And at last, let's get to the first day of school! A small thank you to the five favourites and ten follows, by the way!
Chapter six: 4/09 First Day
4/09, Monday: Morning; Ylisstol High School
There was a rumour spreading about Ylisstol High School that the second-year class was receiving a new transfer student. Supposedly, the information was leaked from sources linked to Chrom and Lissa that the new student would start class effective today. Speculation was already rampant on whether the new transfer would be some cute girl or hot guy.
What no one would have expected, other than a handful of the Shepherds, was that the transfer student had blended in too easily with the school. Since there were a handful of students from Plegia City School already attending Yllistol High, another student had made little difference. No one really noticed her when she walked into the school. It was only when she was formally introduced to her class did people actually notice her.
Earlier that morning, Robyn met up with Chrom at the staff office as promised. It didn't take long for Chrom to brief the staff that Robyn had transferred from Perezia at late notice and had assured the necessary paperwork was completed. Some favour from his older sister helped, and within the hour Robyn as accepted into the school.
"Good morning, everyone," the homeroom teacher, Flavia, said. "May I introduce our new transfer student from Perezia. She will be studying alongside you for the rest of this term."
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Robyn," she greeted the class, bowing down.
And it was then everyone's eyes shot to Robin – the male one. No matter how they looked at it, the Robyn standing at the front of class looked extremely similar to their Robin. Of course, besides the fact Robyn wore a girl's outfit and her hair was tied into twin tails (as opposed to Robin's mop hair), her facial features and hair colour mirrored the boy's. Yes, she wore the purple vest, bow, and skirt along with the black blazer that only girls from Plegia City School would wear. But apart from the clothes, her appearance compared to Robin's was garnering attention.
"Now, now. I know it might come as a surprise how similar Robyn-san looks to Robin-kun here, but I have been assured by Chrom-sama himself that they are not related," Flavia added, though she appeared to have some doubts herself. "They don't even know each other." She looked at Robyn once more. "You'll need a seat, of course. Let's see…" She scanned the room for an open seat. "You can sit in front of Robin-kun there."
Something lurched in Robyn's stomach. That was where she normally sat back in the day. Was her world so similar to this one such that the one seat that was always unoccupied in her world happened to be Robin's?! And now the reverse was true: the empty seat in this world was rightfully hers.
"Alright, listen up!" Flavia barked, her demeanor changing instantly to something command-like. "Just because we have a new transfer student doesn't mean you get to slack off on your studies. You still have plenty of work to do!"
Unfazed, Robyn merely opened her books to the correct pages. But despite Flavia's orders, her fellow classmates were still giving Robyn confused looks and comparing her looks to Robin's.
Robyn took a deep breath. It seems like things would be back to normal for now, but she had never felt so much like a foreigner. No one in this class knew her, let alone understood her or what she was going through. Perhaps the person closest to her would have to be Robin. It kind of helped that Robin got her accepted, but she couldn't help but feel some sort of barrier between her and her 'friends'. Friends? More like acquaintances for now.
4/09, Monday: After School; Ylisstol High School
The bell sounded the dismissal of classes. Any given student would head for home or buy a snack at the school shop. But at Yllistol High, the one thing that every student craved was the shop's freshly baked melon pan which always sold out within ten minutes after dismissal. There were always students rushing to get in line to buy one of the sweet-smelling breads that some wondered if it was worth their time waiting for one. Plus, it was cheap; perfect for anyone on a budget.
Unfortunately for Robyn it appeared Robin appeared at the same time to get one. It helped that Robin provided her with leftover funds so she could buy one loaf. But even so, they both noticed that there was only one melon pan left.
"I was here first," they said together.
And the shop clerk looked confused, seeing two similar persons in front of her, but regained her composure after. "You'll have to settle this between yourselves," she said.
Before Robin could say another word, his thoughts were interrupted from a greeting from a fellow friend. "Whoa, Robin. I didn't know you had a twin sister," the voice said, and in the next moment Robin was forced to look at Gaius in the eyes. "Have to say, she looks just like you!"
Rolling his eyes, Robin wanted to reply but his mind was also on the melon pan. But it was too late. Gaius had provided the distraction Robyn needed to seize the opportunity to buy the last melon pan. With a sense of bitterness, Robin looked straight at Gaius again. "Great… You made me lose my chance for the melon pan."
"Aw, don't be like that, Robin! Let me make it up to you. I've got a ton of sweets with me, you know. Pocki sticks, chocolate, lollipops, cookies, you name it. I'll give you a full set if you want!" Gaius offered, showing off his bag full of sweet snacks. The Pocki sticks sure looked tempting, as Gaius had strawberry flavour among them. But that still wouldn't make up for the melon pan.
"No thanks."
Gaius crossed his arms. "Alright, alright. How about this? I'll go steal a melon pan for you. Or I can give you my money to make up for the melon pan."
"No. I want my melon pan. And don't steal from someone either." Robin was not having any of this. He wanted a melon pan of his own.
They were interrupted by a burst of giggles from Robyn, who still hadn't started eating the bread.
"If you're feeling that salty about it, we can share," she offered.
"No thanks. It's… yours," Robin replied.
It wasn't obvious to Gaius, but Robyn guessed the one reason Robin had conceded was because he would have felt guilty for taking someone's melon pan that someone had paid for. It wouldn't feel right to him to get someone to simply share the last melon pan either. Robyn knew that too, because she would have done something similar too. She broke half the bread off and offered it to Robin.
"Come on, just take it," she said. "Otherwise, I'll give it to him." She was careful not to mention Gaius' name as she technically didn't know the Gaius of this world. It was better, in Robyn's opinion, to stay inconspicuous and get to know Robin's versions of her friends here. She waved the melon pan in front of Robin and even pretended to poke at Robin's cheek with it.
Rolling his eyes, Robin took the melon pan and began to eat.
"We good now? Otherwise, I'm off to Parthia Plaza," Gaius said.
"Going to get some more sweets, aren't you?" Robin replied. And then, like Robyn, he figured it was best to introduce Robyn as well. "Just so you know, Gaius. This is Robyn. Before you get any ideas, she is NOT my sister, for starters. She's not even related to me. But she's our newest addition to the Shepherds, so make her feel at home, alright?"
Gaius nodded. But he took another moment to examine Robyn again. "But she looks almost like you, Robin, and you still say you're not related? No, no, I can't have that. I'll confuse you two easily, so Robyn-chan here needs a new name…" It was obvious she had a different hairstyle than Robin and she wore a girl's uniform, but her facial features were too similar to Robin. And upon hearing the prospect of a new name, Robyn felt a slight twinge of dread, knowing Gaius' antics. Her face showed it. Gaius was looking closely at Robyn with a surprisingly neutral face and examined her face carefully.
The longer it took, the more dread showed on Robyn's face. What sort of mayhem was going through Gaius' mind right now? Moments later, his face brightened up, which turned Robyn's fears into reality. Gaius must have thought of a brilliant idea.
"Oh! I got it. I'll call you Melonpan-chan," Gaius said.
That vindicated Robyn's fears. No – way – was she going to be nicknamed after a melon pan! She knew about Gaius' ridiculous nicknaming, but to get a nickname like just because of a fight over a melon pan didn't seem right to her. "Gaius-kun…!" she began her protest. "You can't –"
But Gaius had already walked away. "Have a great day, Melonpan-chan!"
Robyn was clearly dumbfounded. She was unsure of what to do next, so she did only what made sense to her which was to chew on another bite of melon pan. From now on, it looked like Gaius would forever call her by that name. So Robin insisted they head home and get some studying done, and if there was time they could play a game of Generals of Hyrule. However, he wouldn't dare call Robyn by the nickname Gaius made up. That might have pushed it.
4/09, Monday: Evening; Robin's Residence, Kitchen
Morgan was seemingly too busy doing her homework to get any tomes stacked for Robin to get crushed under. As a seven-ish year-old, even Morgan had her share of homework to go through. Nevertheless, despite her age, she was very well-disciplined in staying on task, be it her homework or doing household chores. That was a small price to pay for living practically with Robin alone. Robin couldn't do everything, after all. And Robin did do the shopping most of the time.
And speaking of which, after school, Robin and Robyn didn't go home immediately but instead went to the Dawson convenience store on Ignis Avenue. Since the school itself was located on Ignis Avenue and convenience store was just a five-minute walk away, Dawson was a favourite among the Yllistol High students as well as the community around it. It was, in short, the go-to location for food for just about everybody in the area. Plus, it was also located on the same intersection that led to the uphill side road to Robin's home, which was very convenient. Dawson was a far cry from the busy commercial district on Ylisse Street, which was another reason why locals adored this convenience store close to their homes. Hence its business nature.
They had bought three bento boxes, all three with bear meat. Apparently the cashier wasn't too happy with Dawson stocking bear meat bento on the shelves. Even though demand for these was low and they only came in once a week, they were still selling. She was so annoyed with the bear meat bento and the smell of it, despite the packaging, that she usually marked down their prices earlier than the other bento boxes. Robin and Robyn were fine with that. And the cashier was extremely surprised to see not one, not two, but three bear meat bento bought at the same time. But she couldn't complain. She was happy to see them go far away.
And so the bento were heated up and served on the eating table in the kitchen. Morgan was pretty content with her salmon bento but lost some of her appetite when she saw two servings of the bear meat bento on the table too. Robin and Robyn had stars in their eyes seeing the tasty meals in front of them that were for, for lack of better word, people with discerning tastes.
"Onii-chan? Robyn onee-chan? How can you eat that?" Morgan said in a small voice, after swallowing her first bite of bear meat. "I'm struggling to get through my share."
"Are you joking? This is delicious," Robin replied. "I could go for another one of these."
"He is absolutely right," Robyn agreed, taking more and more mouthfuls of the bear meat.
But the bear meat was still gamey for Morgan's taste, so she had only half the bento. The other half would serve as tomorrow's lunch, maybe. "So anyway, how was your day?" she asked. "It was your first day at school, right, onee-chan?"
Thankful that even Robin's little sister cared for her wellbeing, Robyn replied, "It'll take some time getting used, but I should be fine."
"She even got a nickname too," Robin added, but when he was met with daggers from Robyn's eyes, his lips curled into a wider smile. "Robyn-chan made a friend or two today, that's all."
"Sounds like you're settling well," Morgan remarked.
After dinner, Morgan kept herself entertained with reading a storybook in the living room. Robin and Robyn meanwhile immediately got their books out at the living room table and started studying. They could have studied in their rooms, but since they decided to keep Morgan company too until it was time for bed for the little sister.
But even though Robyn was taking in her studies well, her thoughts drifted back to the Fire Emblem in her room. What good would come from it? Maybe she should test it sometime tomorrow. But studying came first. "Let's see… Let's start with trigonometry…"
A game of Generals of Hyrule would have to wait again.
4/10, Tuesday: Morning; Ylisse Street at Ignis Avenue
While walking to school the next morning, Robyn and Robin ran into Chrom at Lissa at the intersection of Ylisse Street and Ignis Avenue. Chrom and Lissa may have been royalty and security would normally be tight around them, but the both still chose to walk to school like everyday students. Being escorted to school with a full police bodyguard would be uncalled for, and they wanted to relate more with the citizens too.
Robyn and Robin included.
"Good morning, you two," Chrom greeted.
"Good morning, Chrom," Robin replied.
"And good morning to you too!" Lissa cheerfully greeted Robyn in particular.
While Robin greeted the pair back with a casual wave, Robyn was not sure how to address Chrom and Lissa properly. Even though she owed Chrom a debt for allowing her to attend Ylisstol High, she felt some kind of social barrier between her and Chrom, despite Robin's assurance and Chrom's help yesterday morning. "Good morning… Chrom-sama."
And that caused Chrom to chuckle. "No need to be so formal with me."
"He's right, you know!" Lissa chirped.
Was Chrom that easy to get along with? Robyn couldn't recall since it had been a long time ago since she had met Chrom, so talking with him like this was like meeting him again for the first time. Suppose that was one thing that she could get used to in this world. "Um, alright, Chrom-kun. I can call you that, right? I, uh…"
Robyn's nervousness was obvious, and Chrom smiled again. "Robyn-chan, you'll be fine, right?"
With Lissa also grinning at her, Robyn relaxed. "Of course." It felt like her nervousness had dissipated in an instant and she was among friends again, save for the one difference with Robin in her midst. But along with that came a certain sadness. After all, it would take time before this Chrom and this Lissa would really know her.
While they continued walking on Ignis Avenue towards the school, Robyn felt a sudden shuddering from inside her bag. And she wasn't imagining it either because Robin, Chrom, and Lissa also heard it, but only briefly before the shuddering stopped.
"Wh-what was that?" Lissa said.
Robyn didn't need thinking twice as she opened her bag and pulled out the shield. The Fire Emblem – the entirety of it – was glowing orange like flames. It was warm to the touch in Robyn's hands and then it became as hot as fire within a few moments. Freaking out, Robyn threw the Fire Emblem forward.
The next instant would have been unbelievable to anyone had they not seen it with their own eyes. The Fire Emblem, glowing red-hot, had been thrown in a forward direction but it disappeared in front of the group. Instead it had created a rip in the fabric of reality in front of them, like seeing another world on the other side.
"What is this?!" Lissa said, shocked. "Wait, Robyn-chan! Don't!"
But Lissa's words came too late as Robyn, fearful of the loss of the Fire Emblem, went through the fire and flames. To lose the Fire Emblem was too big of a loss to bear and Robyn ended up disappearing in the space in front. That left Lissa staring back at her brother and Robin.
"Well, what do we do?! We can't just leave her there! Who knows what might happen?!" It was apparent Lissa was in a state of panic. "Especially you and Chrom! You can't just show up to class and explain that Robyn-chan disappeared in flames!"
Robin stood speechless, still processing what to do. He couldn't blame Robyn for recklessly jumping into the flames. After all, he was probably the only one who understood how much Robyn valued that shield. Robyn herself had yet to explain to him why it was so important (and he recalled her telling him she didn't understand it yet either). But the point was that he knew Robyn would do anything to keep the shield safe in her care.
He also noticed the flames were starting to disappear, and that visible world was closing up.
"I'm going in," he told Chrom and Lissa. "I won't leave her there alone."
He felt the feeling of fear overwhelm his senses for a moment before he walked through the flames and into the beyond. From the point of view of Chrom and Lissa, Robin had disappeared in flames like Robyn did, which left them dumbstruck. Now what could they do? They could go after Robin, but wouldn't that be dangerous?
Got a pairing you like? Or got any ideas what Robyn and/or Robin could do at school or outside school? Let me know! Next chapter will have more plot substance, for sure.