Third-Person POV

"..."

"Dimitri, did you hear me? It's me, Sakura."

The idol approached the broken prince slowly, wary of what a man like him could do to her. There was a sense of fear in her voice, but at the same time, empathetic since he was a friend to her.

"... Why have you come?"

His words were chilling, like he could choke the life out of a person easily. Regardless, Sakura moved closer.

"I just wanted to check on you, are you… alright?" Sakura asked politely.

"Ha ha ha…. I have never been better, Sakura. I have finally been given the opportunity to enact my revenge…" Laughter trickles out Dimitri's mouth.

"Your revenge, huh?" Sakura is now within three feet of Dimitri, sitting down next to him on the Cathedral bench, "Is it really that important to you?".

"Such a foolish question, of course!" He bursted out suddenly before going quieter, "My father, my stepmother, the friends that I have lost in those flames… I shall be the one to avenge them. Once Edelgard's head is removed from her body, it is then that they will finally be at peace."

Sakura couldn't believe a word she was hearing from him. Vengeance has absolutely consumed the once chivalrous prince, so much so that Sakura couldn't make eye contact with him.

"How can you be so sure that she is the one responsible? You heard her deny you—" Sakura began.

"THAT MONSTER LIES! Why must you defend such a lowly beast?! How could you have loyalty towards one who tramples over the lives of the innocent, just for the sake of control?! HAVE YOU GONE MAD, SAKURA?!" Dimitri interrupts through shouts that echo throughout the empty cathedral.

"..." The girl is left speechless.

Dimitri begins panting after his outburst, "It is truly foolish to believe that her guilt is anything but clear, especially after you have seen her work alongside inhuman filth with no remorse for their actions. Edelgard is our true enemy… or has she managed to convince you otherwise?"

"..." Sakura still couldn't say a word.

"ANSWER ME!" The mad prince demanded, but Sakura didn't budge, "Tch, leave my sight. NOW." Dimitri states as he slouches back down on the bench.

Sakura did what he asked of him, and left him be, saying only one more thing before he was far enough not to hear it, "No, I'm not the one who's gone mad, Dimitri. Goodbye…"

Her head was down during her exit, his words digging into her thoughts with each step she took. She shed no tears, for she had already done so multiple times, the only thing on her face was the look of despair.

However, an unexpected person walked up to her slowly, "The boar prince can't be reasoned with, you idiot. He's been hiding this desire for revenge for a while, the Dimitri you were so accustomed to is now gone."

Sakura was about to say otherwise, but Felix raised a finger, "It was all a farce anyways, I've seen this side of him once before, when we once suppressed a rebellion in the Kingdom years ago. The intense bloodlust I saw out there… it was disgusting. You should give up on him while you can, and focus on what your friend, the imperial princess, has in store for us. If an all-out war is what she wants, that is what she'll get. Try not to show compassion towards her as you did for him…"

"I…" Sakura ran off, not wanting to hear more of what the swordsman had to say.

"Why did you say all of that to her, Felix?" Ai confronted him after seeing her friend pass by.

"Hmph, she's not ready for something like war. She had improved through her training, yet her heart is still weak. That girl just won't let things be…"

Ai shook her head, "Even if she isn't, that doesn't excuse your behavior towards her, and towards our house leader. They both need all the help they could get, so insults and 'letting things be' will not be useful. Why don't YOU show compassion for a change, inconsiderate dastard."

"Tch…" Was Felix's only response.

Ai gives out a heavy sigh, "Ugh, maybe I should ask Yugiri to slap him. That might help change his attitude."

Felix glared back at the Heisei Idol.

"Nothing." Ai said back.

"Wow! Japan sounds like a great place to visit!" Annette clapped her hands together.

"It sounds like one can take much pleasure in visiting this country of yours." Petra agreed.

"Indeed a lot of pleasure to be had." Yugiri nodded.

"That quote could definitely be taken the wrong way, but yes. We wish we could welcome you all to come to Saga if we could." Junko told her Fódlan companions.

"That sounds incredible, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer if the opportunity to visit arrives." Ashe smiles joyfully.

Then a certain pink-haired idol grabbed a meal and sat down by herself at the table in front of them.

"Hm? Is something the matter with Sakura?" Petra asks.

"She must be quite stressed after what happened with Prince Dimitri and Emperor Edelgard." Yugiri put a hand to her cheek.

"It has to be that, since I saw her running from the cathedral where His Highness was earlier." Ashe looked on worriedly.

"Well, how about we go cheer her up, right Junko?" Annette rose up instantly.

"M-Me? Are you sure?" The Showa Idol fidgeted.

"Of course! You're her friend, right? Then let's brighten up Sakura's day." Annie and Junko then walked up to their classmate.

"Sakura, are you feeling alright? You haven't been yourself as of late…" Junko asks.

"I'm...it's complicated right now." She responded as she played with her food a bit.

"Hm, how about you come sit and talk with us? We'll listen to what's troubling you." Annie assured the egghead.

"Agreed, we would be happy to have understanding of your troubles." Petra commented.

"...Sorry everyone, but I need to be alone for a while." Sakura told them, calmly.

Junko frowns, "But…".

"Please, leave me be…."

All of them were taken aback by her last words, as she finally decided to eat her now lukewarm meal. Junko and Annette sat back down at their table, severely worried about Sakura's emotional state.

"Should I slap her to bring her back to her senses?" Yugiri asked.

"W-What?! No!" Ashe put the courtesan's hand down.

"N-Not right now!" Junko told her.

The two weeks of preparation went by quickly, and tomorrow was the day of the Empire's attack on the monastery. Because of this, Kotaro had called Franchouchou, as well as Linhardt and Lysithea to discuss what would happen if things go awry.

"You remember that promise you made about abandoning ship if the monastery goes down, right ladies?" Tatsumi put his hands on his hips as he looked over them all.

"Yes, but even if the chances of victory are slim, about 50% from what I heard from Shamir, we'll fight as long as we can." Ai's eyes shone with determination.

"We owe the Church so much, I won't let it all be for naught." Junko clenched her hands together.

Lysithea then walked up to the manager, "Me & Linhardt had been busy practicing by warping objects using the staff, they disappeared, but we still don't know where."

Linhardt then woke up from his chair, "Oh right. We've just been doing nothing but warping rolls of bread for three days now, at least they didn't disintegrate. I see that as a successful test run."

"Have you actually tried it on something living though?" Ai asked them.

"Well…" Lysithea hesitated.

"No." Linhardt didn't.

"Lame. How can y'all be sure if we'll even make it outta here?" Saki brushed her ponytail out of her face.

"Hey! We're trying our best here, so don't rush us when it could be costly!" Lysithea was annoyed by that last statement.

"Sorry, I just can't leave our lives in the hands of a know-it-all kid and Sir Yawns-a-Lot, no offense."

"None taken." Linhardt responds.

Lysithea got even more annoyed, "I am more than offended here you—"

"Lysithea, calm down!" Lily tells her friend as Ai scolds Saki.

"Sorry, I almost lost myself there. Anyways, with the invasion, we'll have to assist with defending the monastery as well. So make sure all of you are accounted for when we get to the courtyard and we'll try our best to survive out there as well." Lysithea explained.

"Right, hope that all of us will make it out of this unscathed." Ai nodded and Tae bobbed her head to mimic her.

"All this fighting is a pain, why couldn't they have just given us one more month to prepare?" Linhardt complained.

"I honestly agree…." Sakura spoke up for the first time in this meeting.

"I am simply astonished at how quickly the Emperor had managed to raise up her army…" Yugiri said as she smoked her pipe.

"Lily is scared, but they're being mean! We need to go beat 'em up!" Lily pumped her fists in the air.

"That's the spirit. Let's just give 'em hell out there! I ain't going down without bringing a whole buncha them with me!" Saki shouted loudly.

"HOLD YOUR HORSES!" Kotaro raised his voice even louder to counter her.

"... Look, I don't want you stupid zombies to go die again after all the effort to bring you back from the dead to begin with. All those battles you went through before is nothing compared to the horrors of war. Get the job done, or run when you can't fight anymore. Saga still needs saving, Saga still needs idols, Saga still needs Franchouchou…. SO COME BACK IN ONE PIECE, YOU HEAR?!"

The girls' eyes widened at his surprisingly heartfelt outburst, and they could swear they saw a tear fall down their manager's face then. Kotaro then saluted them all before marching out the room, as they gave him one too.

Among them, Sakura was quite touched by what she heard from him, yet… she still had a lot on her mind then. The way Dimitri spoke to her, the imperial invasion, and that letter she had received…

"Oi, Sakura." Saki got her attention as the others began to leave, "Try to control that guy, His Highness, when you're all out there, k? It's gonna be a freaking massacre if he gets too loose."

She pats Sakura's shoulder before making her exit, cracking her knuckles as well as she was headed to one last bit of training. Sakura finally left the room as well, deciding to take one last look at the night sky.

The spot she had chosen was the area where you could see pegasus or wyvern riders soaring over the monastery, right by the cemetery. Sakura sighed as she sat down, looking up at the bright stars above her head. She smiles softly as a breeze flows through her hair, but soon she began to sob over the fact that this may be her last night in Fódlan.

It started out a little small before Sakura broke out into flat out blubbering, gaining the attention of the instructor of her class.

"Something on your mind?" Byleth asked her.

"Ah, hey Professor. I.. yeah, something like that. Can I ask you something real quick, if you don't mind?"

"I'm usually answering questions placed in the ask box anyways, so yes you may." Byleth nodded.

"Well… it's always difficult going out there to fight, I know that for sure. But, do you think it's right if you end up fighting against friends? Not like what the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was, but… fighting them for real?" Sakura asked as she swung her legs back and forth.

"Hm… it's because of Edelgard, isn't it?" Byleth assumes.

"Yeah, it is pretty obvious… I just don't know if she's truly the bad guy in this. She thinks the Church of Seiros is evil, so… I don't know what to believe right now. Whether she's right or wrong, there's just no way I can fight her or have her get killed." Sakura wipes the tears out of her eyes and sniffles.

"I see, that's very understandable. Especially with both Rhea and Dimitri calling for her head." Byleth states and Sakura shudders when she hears Dimitri's name.

"It is a difficult thing to comprehend, war is something none of us are truly used to. I've had a lot of talks today with your classmates about this as well. I ended up giving them all the same answer, but said in ways that they would understand and accept."

"You have? Sorry about adding another question onto that pile then, ha…"

"Not a problem, this is my duty as your professor after all. Just know that it's alright to fight for what you believe in, whatever the choice. Edelgard's ideals are too complicated for our current understanding, and even if we did understand there is no way we could change her mind. All we can try to do is our best, it's up to you to choose what you believe is right, then fight for it as hard as you can. We'll support your decision, no matter what happens out there."

After hearing all of that, Sakura's eyes began to get watery again, "Byleth… thank you."

Sakura cries onto her teacher's shoulder as he tries to comfort her as best as he could, giving a small smile as he looks to the night sky.

SAKURA AND BYLETH HAVE ATTAINED SUPPORT LEVEL B

Tomorrow… everything changes.

END OF CHAPTER 38

See you all in the finale of White Clouds, I'll be waiting for you all. Hope you're all excited, to anyone who has stuck with this dumb story for a while. Thank you and farewell!