Judging from the number of readers I see on my stats, it looks like this fic is more popular than I expected! I wonder why...

Chapter fourteen: Movies, Archery, and Ramen

5/26 Saturday: Afternoon; Robin's Residence

The next ten days went by pretty quickly for Robyn, and it was no surprise given the amount of schoolwork that had accumulated throughout the week or two. To take advantage of the mild temperatures, Robyn and Robin played two rounds of table tennis at Amatsu Park in the past Wednesday and Thursday. And that helped them as they resumed their studies by the end of the week.

In fact, the two of them, to get ahead of the game, opted to spend their Saturday morning studying together. For reasons she couldn't explain, Robyn found it more comfortable to study with Robin. His thoughts and his studying pace matched hers in every way. Why, when they were studying mathematics, they completed the practice problems at an eerily similar pace. Then they took notes from their textbooks afterward.

"That was a good use of time, don't you think?" Robin remarked.

"Totally! With that much homework this week, it would make our lives easier for tomorrow," Robyn replied.

They shared similar handwritten notes on social sciences and compared solutions for technical courses. But as she studied, Robyn couldn't help thinking about the coming week. The end of May – or rather the next full moon – was coming. As Miriel put it, daylight would have run out at that point, but as far as Robyn was concerned, the sunlight seemed normal. What would happen after that day passed? Her eyes were empty slits as she absentmindedly put her books away.

Perhaps Robyn took for granted that since it had been so long – over two weeks – since she had retrieved Argent from Halidom. Did it have any effect on the daylight hours at all? So far, it seemed okay. The daylight didn't look too much different that it had been for the past month. Perhaps all was well right now?

She didn't realise that Robin had been staring at her for that moment.

"Are you tired, Robyn? Do you need rest?"

Robyn jolted a little. "Oh! No, it's nothing. Nothing, really! I just…"

"Come now, you're being too modest," Robin said. "You know, there's a new movie airing at the theatre, and it is Saturday. If you'd like, maybe we could grab our friends to watch it?"

Robyn's eyes lit up slightly.

"Right! Who should we get?"

Pleased that Robyn was motivated, Robin turned his attention to his phone. "Hmm… who to invite indeed…"

5/26 Saturday: Evening; Goldenrod Square, Theatre

The movie theatre was located to the west of Iris-shi at a complex called Goldenrod Square, not quite far from the main centre of Iris-shi and certainly nowhere close to Aritia (which would have needed a train ride). Still, a fifteen-minute bus ride from Iris-shi Station was needed at least to get to the theatre. In fact, the bus travelled to a separate train station. However, all that was needed was stop along the way where Goldenrod Square was located (along with the theatre and local restaurants).

"Did you really have to bring that with you? Like, I get you would value that over your life, but it seems awkward," Robin said.

"I agree, Robyn-chan," said Chrom, who had come along with Lissa for the trip. It seemed to make sense to Robyn for those two to come along as they seemed to be closer to Robyn compared to the other Shepherds. Interacting with the others could wait.

Regarding the earlier remark, Robin meant the Fire Emblem. For some reason, Robyn had decided to bring it with her for the trip. She must really treasure it a lot, Robin thought. Even then, given the strange times they were going through, he couldn't blame her either.

"You can't make me let go of this! I'll destroy you," Robyn replied.

"Oh come now. You can't do that!" Lissa said, smiling as she did. "We're here to watch 'Finite War', right? Don't spoil the movie if one of us dies before we watch the movie."

Robin scoffed. "Right… So, uh…"

"What's the movie about again?" Robyn finished the sentence for him.

"It's about a team of heroes who scavenge the world to find magical stones before the dark lord does in order to seal him away. If the dark lord gets his hands on even one, the heroes are done for," Lissa replied. Realising that Robyn, Robin, and Chrom were giving her amused looks, Lissa looked down, flustered. "I mean, that's what I know about it…"

"Alright, Lissa. Let's watch this movie you so wanted to see," Chrom said.

"Chrom!" Lissa whined.

They walked into the theatre together to buy tickets.

Minutes later, in the auditorium itself, the four of them had sat on the upper row as the rows below were already packed with viewers. The film opened with a handful of action scenes of the heroes locked in gruelling combat with the dark lord's minions around the world. Initially, the heroes split into groups to retrieve different stones, and it ended with one more confrontation between the heroes and the dark lord. By the end of it, the female protagonist used the stones to seal away the dark lord, but at the cost of her life.

"This war… is over for me," she said.

"No! Open your eyes! OPEN YOUR EYES!" said the male protagonist.

Then came what basically was a funeral for the female protagonist. But after the screen faded to black, the female protagonist woke up in a field where she was met with the male protagonist once more, who had knelt down to help her back on her feet. The female protagonist was alive.

"It's over now. Welcome back," he said.

Then the credits started rolling, which left Robyn, Robin, Chrom, and Lissa to stay around to discuss the movie afterward. They exchanged their opinions, although Lissa was noticeably in tears probably because of how the movie ended. Robyn and Robin, simultaneously, wore apparent sad looks even though the ending.

"She shouldn't have scared them like that!" Lissa remarked.

"But hey, she didn't know she would make it out alive either," Robyn said. "She knew she would die, but in the end, she wanted to serve the greater cause…"

"And things turned out okay after," Robin said. "I suppose it's small consolation for everyone to know she lived after."

5/26 Saturday: Evening; Goldenrod Square

As the four of them left the theatre, they opted to go for dinner together. There was a ramen shop, a burger restaurant, and also a restaurant offering set meals. Plus, there was also a trap room for anyone who wanted to be entertained by giant puzzles. But at this hour, Robyn and Robin settled on getting food, and opted for set meals.

Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't too busy and no sooner were the four of them eating curry and rice, with Robyn, Robin, and Chrom opting for the bear option (Lissa stuck to beef, questioning why anyone would dare getting bear meat). The next hour or so was spent talking about the movie as they ate. Even then, Robyn and Robin appeared to care more about the bear meat than anything else. Frankly, for Robin, he had never met someone like Robyn who enjoyed bear as much as he did. Getting over the smell factor was a start.

And soon enough they had finished eating and had paid for the meals (using, of course, funds gained from the Halidom). Chrom and Lissa would to be picked up by someone from their home, and unsurprisingly it would be in an armoured SUV with shatterproof windows. Security was what mattered for anyone of royalty here. They began walking out to the space near the bus stop, where their ride was expected.

"You know, we could always give you a ride home. It's not too far from ours," Chrom offered.

"Seconded!" Lissa added.

Robyn smiled. But as she walked past the theatre with the others, she also felt shuddering on back, causing her to stop where she was.

"Robyn? You okay?" Robin asked her, also stopping to check on her.

"I'm okay," she replied.

Seconds later, Chrom and Lissa's ride arrived, and the driver was more than happy to oblige their wishes when they asked him to give Robyn and Robin a ride too. At least that would save plenty of time of commuting for everyone!

5/30 Wednesday: Morning; Ylisstol High School, School Gate

The days leading up to Wednesday were nothing short of work. The full moon on the previous Tuesday night was the least of Robyn's worries when she and Robin were slapped with three assignments on Monday. There was a math quiz next week, a presentation project to be completed by the end of July, and a briefing for the term socials research paper.

Robyn and Robin, once again, had walked together from their usual route down Ylisse Street and Ignis Avenue. The weather had become warmer but it wasn't quite summer yet. The pair, even though Robyn had already been going to school for almost two months, never ceased to catch the eyes of fellow students. Their Plegia City School uniforms were only part of the reason why they caught eyes, since they themselves looked similar.

And even then, people were surprised they weren't related. In a way, they weren't either.

"And don't you have club after school? That sounds fun," Robin said. But when Robyn didn't react, he gently poked her arm. "Come now, you signed up too, right?"

"Oh? Uh… right, right, I did…" Robyn said.

Robin gave her a small smile. "I know you're worried that the full moon passed, but come on. Your life isn't going to get any longer by worrying. We'll do a briefing with the Shepherds and catch up with those daylight hours. But first, we should do some archery, right?"

Robyn nodded. They passed by the school gate to get prepared for the day.

5/30 Wednesday: After School; Ylisstol High School, School Field

The Ylisstol High School field was a large span of grass stretching an entire block. The school bordered one side while Ignis Avenue bordered the other and – across the street intersecting Ignis Avenue, behind a large fence – the convenience store popular with students and locals alike. But while the convenience store was in plain sight of the field, it was not possible to walk directly from the field to it, due to the fencing and black boards blocking off passage. One could always try to climb the fence in the hopes of making over, but the chances of injury were high. It was much simpler and safer to simply walk using Ignis Avenue from the school instead. Either way, there were buses along both roads that could connect to Iris-shi Station, and even the express bus to Aritia stopped by the school.

The school field was always bustling with activity, from track and field to archery, from soccer to cricket. There was a reason why booking a spot to host a club event was always coveted, given there were only so many days possible to use the field. To get a booking, a club only had to submit an application to the school administrators with requested times, which would be thoroughly reviewed and then would be passed before allotting a time slot based on availability.

The archery club, for instance, made the most of it. For safety reasons, the archery club was to have a column of the field exclusively for their use. Targets were set up at different distances from firing at the end of the field. Here, active members could freely shoot as they wished. At certain time intervals, the archery club supervisor would blow a whistle to allow time for staff to collect the arrows safely. Then when all was done, the whistle would blow again to signal shooting could resume.

Robyn had picked up a bow and began firing arrows away at her targets. Of course, as Robyn (let alone Robin) had never used a bow before, her initial shots were lacklustre. Usually, the shots were too low and they sailed to the field before they reached the targets. Robin was just the same, his shots also coming short of the target.

"We're not going to survive in the Halidom at this rate," Frederick remarked.

Watching Robyn shoot the arrows, Robin had an idea. "Oh hey! Why don't we practise cover fire? No time better than to do this, eh?" Since Frederick was here, there was a way he could be useful here.

As if Robyn knew exactly what was on Robin's mind, she pulled Frederick so that he was standing only a few paces ahead of Robyn. Now with an obstacle in her way which happened to be an ally, Robyn grew nervous. She hadn't even mastered shooting an arrow yet, and yet she was expected to make a shot past Frederick? She lifted up her bow and fired anyway.

Her shot hit the back of Frederick's head.

The reaction? Not good. Frederick looked back at Robyn with unsmiling eyes.

"Ha… Maybe let's get the hang of shooting these first, wouldn't you say, Robyn?" Robin suggested.

"I'm done," Frederick said flatly. Then he took his leave.

Robyn and Robin exchanged looks. Firing an arrow was more difficult than using a tome, for sure, although it shot faster than a tome. There were definitely some advantages to using a bow and arrow if they could somehow master using one! It wouldn't be today though.

"I'll grab dinner at the store later," Robin offered. "Want anything?"

"Surprise me," Robyn replied, smiling back. Then she lifted her bow once more to shoot an arrow.

5/30 Wednesday: Evening; Robin's Residence

Robyn didn't appear too worried on the walk home and had almost forgotten to be mindful of the daylight. Had she taken for granted that things would pass by normally? She could barely notice the difference in the daylight hours today but neither could she bother counting them. Then again, Frederick was in charge of that. She honestly felt drained already, over the burden placed on her to find the next Gemstone. If she had to worry about the daylight hours everyday, wouldn't that lead her to insanity?

After archery had concluded, Robyn spent a little more time in the school library to study before heading home in time for dinner. She had to remind herself that like before, she was on her own when it came to dinner. It wasn't like Morgan could cook.

There was no stack of falling tomes to greet here, thankfully. Instead, as soon as Robyn had removed her shoes, she could smell the aroma of salmon wafting from upstairs. It made her mouth water. So Robyn made her way upstairs until her kitchen table was in sight, where she saw Morgan seated and a dish of steamed salmon arranged on the table. Robin greeted her with a smile.

"Welcome home," he and Morgan said together.

Home. Just something the way Robin and Morgan said it made Robyn feel warm and fuzzy. She may as well have felt overwhelmed. It wasn't long that she had put her bag away in her room and then had a shower and got changed. Then she returned to the kitchen table, where Robin and Morgan had set the table and were ready to eat with her. After Robyn had taken her seat, they said thanks together and then began to eat.

Robyn felt relieved just from having a meal like this. She ate quietly. It wasn't the first time she had felt the nostalgia of coming home here, though her mind partly reminisced what it would have been like had her world not been destroyed. It made her feel hollow, like she didn't belong here. Robin could guess what she was thinking, though he didn't say much more. Was dinner becoming awkward already, when there was so much on Robyn's mind?

"This is your home, Robyn. If there's anything you need at all…" Robin started.

"And there's nothing that some more salmon won't fix! Come now, Big Bro would have eaten the whole plate if it weren't for you, Big Sis. He probably cares for you a lot!" Morgan piped.

Robyn failed to not smile. "Did you make this yourself, Morgan?"

"Yup! With a little help…" Morgan eyed Robin, who smiled exactly the same way as Robyn did.

Later that evening, Robyn the hours before bed reading the next chapter of Culinary Rivals. True, it was a thick book and there were a lot of chapters. Plus, at the rate she was reading when she had to share the book with Robin, it would take forever to read! She read two chapters where the entrée-maker was locked up in his restaurant's wine cellar because his own staff and best friend had 'mutinied' him, so to speak, just to make him confess!

After Robin had showered, Robyn gave the book back to him so he could read it. If they had more time, Robyn would have loved to play a round of Generals of Hyrule with Robin, but even Robin recognised there was no time. If they played all night, there would be little energy for tomorrow. So instead, Robyn went to sleep. Facing the world's issues could wait a little.

6/3 Sunday: Afternoon; Parthia Plaza, Marutama Ramen

Facing the world's issues may have waited, however it would not be enough for Robyn. The briefing with the Shepherds was necessary in order to know how their progress was. What better way to spend a briefing than having lunch together? Marutama Ramen was crazy busy as always, and the Shepherds were able to grab plenty of close seats together – on a Sunday no less!

"What can I get you?" the cook said.

"Tamago ramen please!" Robyn and Robin said together, to the cook's amusement. The tamago ramen was the almost the simplest of dishes Marutama had to offer, with its creamy chicken broth, giant slices of pork shoulder, seaweed, green onion, and a soft-boiled egg.

Beside them, the Shepherds had ordered ramen of different sizes and flavours. The basic bowl, which was the same as the tamago ramen minus the egg, was ordered by many. Vaike had an extra helping of pork, Lissa's bowl had an elegant display of extra seaweed, and Gaius had a rich soup base with grounded nuts. Even more amusing was that Sully had ordered an enormous bowl with more pork than Vaike and a soft-boiled egg too. If this was meant to put everyone's bowls to shame, this was it.

"Dang it, Sully…" Robyn muttered.

"What's the matter now, Robyn-chan? Is this too much for you?" Sully said, laughing. "Let's eat!"

Everyone repeated the same and they began to eat while the bowls were still hot. But the food was not without its condiments. There was spicy powder, sesame seed, and fried garlic to go along with the ramen – later which Robyn and Robin couldn't get enough of. They put spoonful after spoonful of fried garlic into their soup!

"You like the fried garlic too?" Robin said.

"Well, yeah! It's the best thing ever! It's so simple, but so tasty!" Robyn replied.

She even put a spoonful into her spoon, then handed the little spoon to Robin, who took the same amount. Then then began to eat. The broth from Marutama was simply legendary. It amused Robin that Robyn had as much passion for the fried garlic as he did. Everyone ate quietly, but it was no surprise since the legendary broth was too delicious to be left cooled down. More amusing to Robyn, Robin had finished his noodles at the same time as she did, with the same amount of broth left over in their bowls.

Their eyes met. If Robyn was thinking what Robin was thinking…

"Refill?" Robin said.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I can finish one full order alone. I had one before, and that was too much!" Robyn said. "But since you're here…" Personally, Robyn and Robin were still hungry but couldn't bring themselves to order the refill, knowing that they would end up stuffing themselves.

At the very least, Sully knew Robin too well for that. "Oh for crying out loud, you two! Just do it!" Sully called out. She raised her voice at the cook. "One refill for these two!"

"Yes!" the cook shouted back. It wasn't long that he had a batch of freshly cooked noodles ready and set before Robyn. "Thanks for waiting," he said. Slightly bewildered, Robyn picked up half the batch and put it in her bowl, with Robin dumping the rest into his. They waited for the noodles to absorb the soup's flavour.

As they waited for their food to arrive, Frederick and Miriel shared their report on the daylight hours. As it happened, even after retrieving the Gemstone from the Halidom, the daylight hours running out had briefly stalled. Up until the full moon last Tuesday, the daylight hours were getting longer like summer should, and it stayed like that after the full moon. Seemed everything was okay for now.

They also discussed the potential whereabouts of the next Gemstone. Frederick had offered the assistance of the national monarch and its contacts with the police. Robyn rejected the offer, saying she had to present at all times with the Fire Emblem anyway and that the predicament she was in would be believable only to some. Even so, the world was a huge place. Was she really just going to exploring around the world until she ran into the Gemstones by chance?

"And then we have school on top of all this!" Lissa complained. "This will take forever!"

Miriel raised her hand. "You never know. If we're stuck at a dead end, we should try looking elsewhere. The Halidom might have something."

"Then it's decided," Chrom said, not bothering with input from the others. "If we have no objections, shall we head to the Halidom this week?" To his surprise, Miriel made a face.

"We'll do that after you've caught up with your homework," she said, to which everyone groaned.