[?]

This field… and this hill. They felt familiar. Had he been here before?

He shook his head, knowing that such a triviality was not the issue right now. There was a more pressing matter.

Why was the hill ablaze? Better yet, why was someone aiming a bow at him?

A quivering woman with purple hair. But that was all he could make out. Her face was just a blur to him. However, he could tell by how she trembled that she was afraid. Whether it was because of his presence or being surrounded by the blazing fire and charred corpses, he wasn't sure.

Either way, he had to deescalate the situation before any more people got killed. With that being said, he dropped his sword and raised his hands, showing the woman that he was not a threat.

"Oi," he took a single step.

"Stay back!" the woman tensed up, "O-Or I'll shoot!"

He halted his approach after her warning. It won't do him any good to have her panic any more. But he had to calm her down somehow.

"Relax, I'm not here to kill you."

"That's EXACTLY what someone who'll try and kill me would say! I know… You're trying to let my guard down before stabbing me in the back. Is that it?!"

While he couldn't blame her paranoia, he was getting annoyed. The fire was spreading, and the place was heating up by the second. This wasn't the time to be suspicious about each other.

"Listen!" he pleaded. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to turn to ash. Neither do you, probably. So, just put down the bow, and let's find a way out of this mess."

"..."

"No one else needs to die here."

"You don't get it… do you?"

"...?"

"E-Even if we do get out of here, we'll just have to kill each other again... This is war, after all. And you're with the enemy. That means I… I have to kill you!

Enemy? War? He had no business being in a war… perhaps...

"Why?" the woman began to shed tears. "Why did it have to end up like this? I could have been home… instead of this stupid field. I could have invited you… Yuri… Everyone and talk about all kinds of stuff. Like the good times we all had together… So why?"

"...Wha-"

"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE IN THIS POINTLESS WAR?! WHY DO I HAVE TO KILL MY DEAR FRIEND?!"

He… did not know what to say. Every word she said left him in sudden shock and confusion. Yuri? Everyone else? And...

"Your dear friend?" he took another step.

"I SAID STAY BACK!"

"...!"

In her state of panic, she released her arrow. His body couldn't move. The arrow aimed at his chest rapidly came closer and closer. He had no time to react.

"HARUKI!"

Suddenly, his vision was blocked by white. Covered in burns from running through the flames, She got in between Haruki and the arrow.

Then the arrow struck her.

He quickly caught her to break her fall. Kneeling down, he cradled her body. The arrow hit directly at her heart. She was losing so much blood. There was nothing he could do to save her.

"N-No… I-" the purple-haired woman stuttered in disbelief before a sword plunged through her chest from behind.

"I'm sorry…" her assailant weakly said, unrecognizable with those horrendous burns. He hugged her close to him before they both were engulfed by the flames.

As he witnessed the horror before him, a bloody hand caressed his cheek. He looked down to see the face of the woman who saved him in vain. Her face was also distorted. Despite that, she weakly whispered something inaudible. He gently held her hand caressing his cheek and leaned his ear toward her. He could hear her final breaths as she was able to say her final word.

"...Live."

As he continued to hold her body in his arms, the flames surrounded him, spreading ever closer. There was no escape.

"Why… is this happening?"

He tightly hugged the body and shut his eyes, waiting for the flames to engulf him like it did everything else.

"...?"

But nothing happened.

Opening his eye, he saw nothing. The hill, the flames… the snow-haired woman. They all vanished. He was back sitting in the same dark place that he had been twice before.

"My, my! It actually worked!"

He heard a familiar voice and noticed arms wrapped around him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a young girl hugging him from behind.

"Himari?"

"Who else could it be, dummy?" Himari giggled before she took her arms around him but still had her hands gently placed on his shoulder. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Like shit," he bluntly admitted.

"Well, that's one way to put it, I suppose. You seem worse for wear, but you're otherwise in one piece. Heh Heh! That just means my hunch turned out to be right, after all!"

"Your hunch?"

"Hmm... Where to start…? Oh?" Himari leaned onto Haruki..

"Quit doing tha- What the hell?!" He looked at his hands and noticed that they were becoming transparent. He noticed Himari's body was doing the same. "Oi, Oi, Oi! What's-"

"Relax, Haruki. You're just about to wake up… Darn it! It took longer than I wanted! Seems like we still have a ways to go."

"You're not making any sense..."

Without responding to his confusion, Himari motioned her hand in front of him and lifted her pinky finger.

"What are you doing?"

"A pinky promise!"

"Huh?"

"You know, the kind of promise that we swear to never break no matter what. So, I promise to tell you everything I know eventually. Just, promise me when you wake up, don't give anyone a hard time."

"Why? What happened?"

"A lot since you fell asleep; a lot that even I don't know about. But don't worry. I'm sure Byleth and Sothis will fill us in with everything. Just pinky promise me you won't cause anyone trouble, and I'll uphold my end of the bargain. 'Kay?"

This was childish, but after hearing how serious Himari was, he could tell that such a promise meant a lot for her. And hearing what she had to say about her so-called hunch was... curious.

With a sigh, he raised his own hand to interlock his pinky with Himari's. "Just don't go back on your word."

"Of course I wouldn't dare to," Himari took a deep breath in relief. "That's what a pinky promise is, after all."

Haruki said nothing else as both their bodies slowly faded away.

"See you on the other side…"


[20th day of the Great Tree Moon, Imperial Year 1180 (Evening) - ?]

He thought that he'd still be outside looking up at the bright, blue sky when he awoke. Instead, he saw a ceiling, and he was not laying on the grassy plain. He was laying on a bed, with his head supported by a soft pillow.

He slowly sat up from the bed. As he did, he noticed that his usual dark clothing and armor were swapped for a plain white shirt and trousers. The bandages on his left arm also seemed to be replaced. However, there seemed to be more bandages than usual, especially on his foot and torso. Lastly, his black scarf was neatly folded and laying on his lap.

He immediately unfolded it and wrapped it around his neck. As he did, he noticed that he was inside a rather large room. There was another bed to his right and curtains placed in between the two to use to separate them. There were also multiple cupboards packed with numerous vials and ingredients - medicinal ones, by the looks of them.

Looking to his left, there was a stained-glass window with the orange rays of the sunset making its way through it.

"Where am I?"

"Garreg Mach Monastery."

A familiar, monotone voice sounded to his right. He looked to see Byleth reading a book while sitting at the far end of a round table.

"You've been asleep for half a day," he continued as he sifted through another page. "You pushed yourself too hard again, Haru."

"Half a day?" Haruki surprised himself, at first. But then he remembered what had transpired not long ago. "Well, it wasn't my fault I had to put in a bit more effort than usual."

"But the fact doesn't change that you acted on your own again."

"Not this, again," Haruki rubbed his temple, annoyed that he would be getting lectured as soon as he woke up.

"Who else would lecture you about your recklessness?"

"Hmph. As if you should be speaking about recklessness. At least I didn't jump in front of an axe like a dumbass."

Byleth finally looked up from his book to lock eyes with Haruki in an intense stare-down. Before things could get any more tense, a ball of light appeared from behind Haruki.

"QUIT IT!" Himari suddenly slapped Haruki in the back of the head the moment she manifested. "Didn't you promise me not cause trouble?!"

"It's okay, Himari," Byleth told the girl. "I agree that my approach to the situation was a near-fatal mistake. If it weren't for Sothis' intervention… I would have..."

Byleth had his signature unreadable, emotionless gaze. Even so, Haruki knew what his older brother was feeling. He was beginning to feel the same way, and it caused him to slightly grimace at the thought.

"Hmph! You're too soft on him, Byleth. Someone needs to teach the boy a thing or two."

"You don't need to..." Haruki waved her off as he laid back down on the bed with his hands laced behind his head. "I was a dumbass, too. I can admit that."

"I… I see," Himari sat on the side of his bed. "As long as you understand."

A long moment of silence ensued between the three. Such moments were fairly common for the two brothers, considering holding conversations was not their strong suit. Both of them didn't mind the silence, however. Himari, on the other hand, was finding it rather awkward. The peculiar girl fidgeted where she was sitting, growing restless from the silence. At her wits end, she opened her mouth to relieve the unbearable silence.

"The village…"

To her surprise however, Haruki beat her to it.

"Did... anyone die?"

"...No," Byleth shook his head. "Although some of our men did get wounded in the skirmish, their lives are not in danger. Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude are safe. On top of that, Remire Village received minimal damage, and none of the villagers were harmed."

"...I see," Haruki said, blankly staring at the ceiling above him. It was the same blank stare he always had when talking about such things. It was the kind that made Haruki extremely unreadable, even to Jeralt and Byleth. However, Himari seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, which resulted in her stifling a chuckle and shaking her head.

Eventually, Haruki returned to his same bored expression and sat back up to look at Byleth.

"I guess that's something. That just means we would've risked our lives for nothing."

"..."

"But even so… To think we almost died."

"Yes… Even now, it's still difficult to comprehend what Sothis did."

"You and me both. I'd wager she doesn't even know… By the way, where is she?"

Byleth tapped his head with his finger. "She's asleep."

"Sleeping at a time like this, huh?"

"Hmph! You're the one to talk, sleepy bo- OOF!" Himari mocked the white-haired boy before he casually chucked his pillow right at her face, sending her flying off the bed.

"Well, whatever," Haruki turned his attention back to Byleth to discuss another matter. "You mentioned that we were in a monastery. Aren't we supposed to be in the Kingdom by now?"

"About that," Byleth got up from the table to have a seat on the bed next to Haruki's. "Things have gotten… complicated."

"...Why?"

"Has father... ever told you about his past?"

Haruki's frown, puzzled about the question but otherwise shook his head, considering that the old man always kept a tight lip when it came to his time before becoming a mercenary.

"I see. Then, this will come as a surprise to you, as well."

What followed was Byleth explaining to Haruki everything that had transpired since he was asleep. And with every sentence, the boy was left even more dumbfounded than the last.

As it turned out, Jeralt used to be a member of the Knights of Seiros, a renowned order of knights associated with the religious organization that Haruki briefly heard here and there but otherwise never bothered to learn any more about.

The Church of Seiros, where it and its knights were stationed in Garreg Mach Monastery, located at the heart of the Oghma Mountains.

However, the revelations did not stop there. What's more, it was revealed that Jeralt actually led the order of knights as its captain.

This was made evident when a group of knights showed up to Remire after the skirmish to rescue the nobles, who just so happened to be students of an Officer's Academy which was also located at Garreg Mach. As to why there was a military school inside holy grounds was unknown to the Eisner brothers, but that was beside the point.

The one that was cladded in white armor, who Haruki learned his name to be Alois, immediately recognized Jeralt and encouraged him and the rest of the mercenaries to accompany them and the nobles to the Monastery. Jeralt ultimately agreed, although reluctantly, in which Byleth followed suit.

Haruki became rather annoyed that he did not have a say in this, but after expressing his displeasure, Himari blindsided him with a smack in the face with the pillow, berating him that he was to blame for falling asleep. What resulted was a full-scale argument between the two with Byleth patiently waiting.

Once the two settled down, Byleth continued. Brotus and Alexia left for the Kingdom to let the client know that they would no longer be able to do the job, while the rest went to the Monastery. Once arriving, Jeralt and Byleth were given an audience with the leader of the Church, Lady Rhea. Based on what Byleth said, it seemed like Jeralt and Lady Rhea had history with each other, albeit a rather sour one given how the old man frowned the entire time they spoke.

Regardless, Lady Rhea requested something that Jeralt was not fond of, and that was to rejoin the Knights of Seiros. As a result, he and the mercenaries now had no choice but to stay here for some time; this included Byleth and Haruki.

At the end of it, Haruki was left sitting on the side of his bed, leaning forward with his hands clenching on each side of his head.

"Now I see why we're here in the first place," he began. "Damn… How the Hell did so much happen?"

"My my," Himari, sat next to Haruki, also astonished by what she heard. "To think your father was keeping such a secret. I wonder if any one else in the company knew anything about it."

"Brotus and Alexia, perhaps," Byleth pinched his chin. "Although, they have never mentioned it either, so it's unknown if they knew at all."

"But the fact remains the same," Haruki took his hands off his head and looked at Byleth. "His past came back to haunt him. Now, all of us got bit in the ass."

"For once, I agree. He surely does have plenty to answer for."

"Damn right he does," Haruki tried to stand, but he was immediately stopped when Himari grabbed him by the hand.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

"To get answers from him. Where else?"

"That's in the line of 'causing trouble,' you know!"

"And what else am I supposed to do? It's irritating being kept in the dark like this."

"You'll have your chance, Haruki. Right now, just focus on healing your wounds. You're in no condition to move around that much, by the look of it."

"He's with the knights," Byleth added, "so it'd probably be difficult to see him right now, anyway."

"...Tsk" Haruki pulled away from Himari's grasp and sat back down. "Have it your way, but I'll get him to talk if it's the last thing I do."

"And you will. Just be patient," Himari placed a hand on Haruki's shoulder and gave him a serene smile, which somehow helped the boy relieve some of his tension.

With a long sigh, he glanced over to Byleth. "So… What are we supposed to do now? With the old man hooked back into the knights..."

"Does that meanwe have to join him, too?" Himari finished his question. "If it were up to me, I would hope not."

The brothers gave Himari a quizzical look.

"Well, let's face it. You two aren't actually what I call… Knightly."

Haruki turned to Byleth, in which they simultaneously shrugged their shoulders, unanimously agreeing with the girl.

"I don't believe that will be the case," Byleth said.

"Oh? Why not?"

Byleth looked down at the book he was still holding. Haruki did the same and caught a glimpse of the title.

The Art of Professorship

Professorship?

That was when he recalled Byleth mentioning something about an Officer's Academy. He obviously didn't know much about how an academy operates, but he understood enough to know that professors are needed. If it just so happened that this academy was short a professor...

"By… Don't tell me you're-"

A knock on the door interrupted him and gained everyone's attention. As the door was about to open, Byleth gave Himari a quick nod and the latter proceeded to do the same. Then, her voice echoed in Haruki's head and gave him a warning.

"Whatever you do, don't speak to me aloud."

"What's going on now?"

"Dummy! What did I just say?! Ugh! To put it simply only you and Byleth can see me! Same with Sothis. So unless you want to look insane, use your head to talk to me!

She was making absolutely no sense. He glanced over to Byleth, who gave him a light nod.

"You can't be serious," Haruki mentally sighed.

"Trust me! You'll see what I mean. Just… act natural."

Not a moment later, the door opened and entered a middle-aged woman. One with bobbed hair and a beauty mark under her left eye. As for what she wore, she donned a white fur coat and a green dress that Haruki believed to be… rather revealing.

"Oh! You're finally awake," the woman gave him a graceful smile. "How are you feeling?"

"…I'm alive, at least," Haruki answered matter of factly, trying to act natural.

"Hmph, very much so. It would have been a shame to have a dashing young man die by the hands of bandits."

She began to approach him and proceeded to inspect his injured leg, ignoring a certain mysterious girl next to him.

Strange.

"Although, you were in pretty bad shape when they brought you in," she continued. "You're quite resilient for taking such a beating."

"Was it really that bad?" he asked.

"A deep wound on your ankle, plus two broken ribs. Not to mention various bruises and scrapes. Yes, I'd say so."

"Broken ribs?"

"Probably when that hunk of meat kicked you," Himari voiced her displeasure, loudly emphasizing every word. "Honestly, how foolish of you to leave yourself open li-"

"You're very lucky that they didn't puncture your lungs," the woman talked over her, seemingly unaware that she did so.

Did she not hear her? It couldn't be likely, since he could hear her clearly. And Byleth was clearly hearing her just a moment ago. Even now, he still was, it seemed.

Even stranger.

"As they are, they will heal on their own. But... " the woman continued as she proceeded to emit a gentle light on the palm of her hand and hover it over his ribcage. "This should help reduce some of the swelling."

A healing spell. A strong one at that; it was likely on par with Alexia's healing. However, his thoughts were not on that. He glanced over to Himari, only to see her off the bed and standing next to the woman, waving her hand in front of her face.

There was no reaction, whatsoever.

"Do you see what I mean, now?" Himari's voice echoed in his head.

He now understood what she meant.

"Terrific," Haruki mentally sighed. "More questions than answers."

"I know… Irritating, huh? For now, let's worry about it later. 'Kay? this lady seems like she still has something to say."

"By the way," the woman healing him brought back his attention. "You probably noticed the new bandages on your arm. Don't worry, Your father mentioned it to me about that, so I let Professor Byleth handle it."

"... I see."

He quietly sighed in relief.

"Speaking of… Professor, has the book been helpful for you?"

"It has. Thank you for recommending it Professor Manuela."

"Oh, don't mention… Buuut if you insist on repaying me, I wouldn't mind talking about it over dinner."

"..."

While the way she spoke to his brother was more flirtatious than it needed to be, Haruki only thought of the single word that she said.

"Professor… huh?"

"Yes... " Byleth gave him a nod.

"That's… unexpected," was all he could say to express his overwhelming astonishment.

"I'm with you there," Professor Manuela chimed in. "It's rather rare to see someone so young as a professor. Although not unheard of. And if Lady Rhea is alright with it, I don't see the problem. In fact, I think he'll make a fine addition to the academy… Both of you for that matter."

Haruki wasn't sure if he could agree. There were plenty of problems making Byleth a professor. For one, Byleth lived his whole life as a mercenary, so of course he had no professorship experience. Sure, he trained and taught him much of what he currently knew. But could that transfer over when teaching multiple people? Nobles, no less?

It wasn't as though he was doubting his capabilities. Byleth was adaptable, so he shouldn't have too much of a problem. He would probably see it as just another job, albeit a long one at that.

But logically speaking, it was simply far too strange for him to be appointed like this with no credentials to support him aside from being a renowned mercenary.

…Both of them?

"Hold on… I'm gonna be a professor too?"

"Oh Goddess no. While Byleth is young, having someone your age as a professor would definitely be unheard of."

"If it's not that then-"

It dawned on him, as it did Himari.

"Wait!" she gasped. "Does that mean what I think it means?!"

Haruki looked at Byleth who proceeded to nod.

"While Knight Alois recommended me to Lady Rhea for the professorship, he recommended you to her for enlistment to the Officer's Academy."

"Meaning that as of today, you are now a student."

"...!?"

"Aaand done. Don't try to move around too much, or else the wounds will reopen. Let me grab something for you, then I'll show both of you to the dorms."

Manuela walked to the far corner of the room, briefly leaving the Eisner brothers by themselves, while Himari proceeded to jump on Haruki's back in delight.

"YAAAY! Haruki! Haruki! Isn't it great?! We're gonna be students! Oh, I can just picture it already! Going to class. Learning all sorts of stuff. Interacting with all sorts of wonderful people! Maybe this will help clean up your bitter act! Oh HOW EXCITING!"

Normally, Haruki would try to fight back against Himari's annoyance, but he was far too stunned to even do that.

"Haru," Byleth called to him in which he slightly raised his head. "I know this a lot to take in, but try to focus. For now, let's wait until we get to our room..."

He then glanced over to his right. As he did, a ball of light manifested and Sothis suddenly appeared... casually floating next to him.

"Hhaaaa… what a lovely nap. Oh, and looks like the younger fool is up as well. Perfect timing."

"We have much to discuss in private."

"..."

"There we go," Manuela returned and immediately gave a pair of crutches to Haruki. "Can't have you put too much pressure on your foot, so use these for now."

Haruki stared at the crutches given to him. His whole mind was running in circles that it grew difficult to comprehend anything, even the wooden sticks before him. He was only able to speak four simple words.

"You can't be serious."


In a room located in the Archbishop's audience chambers, a woman sat at her desk. She donned a white robe, embroidered with the finest jewelry, as well as a crown that signified her status. However, the most noticeable features were her bright, emerald eyes with long silky hair to match.

The woman was Rhea, the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros.

She was finalizing documents for the acceptance of the latest additions to the Officers Academy. However, standing in front of her was her advisor, Seteth - a stern man who shared the same hue of green hair and eyes as the archbishop, albeit a couple shades darker. Seteth was looking none too pleased about Rhea's most recent decision.

"Have you no intention of changing your mind, Rhea? Appointing a complete stranger - a child no less - into our esteemed academy is-"

"I have made my decision, Seteth," Rhea interrupted without giving him as much as a glance. "I know worrying comes naturally to you, but there is truly no need. Byleth is Jeralt's flesh and blood, after all."

"I can't say that's all too comforting," Seteth retorted. "How trustworthy is this Jeralt character? Is he not the man who went missing after the great fire 21 years ago?"

Prior to this meeting, Seteth took the liberty of researching that incident. However, there was little information in the reports. The only valuable piece of information was that Jeralt had reportedly died that day. But, it was obvious that was not true. It seemed all too suspicious to the advisor. More importantly…

"I would remind you that Flayn is now here, as well." With Flayn living in the monastery, he is all the more worried about her safety. "I beg you… please consider whether this is an unnecessary risk."

"Seteth. They have my trust," Rhea reassured him. "Let that be enough for you as well."

Was it wise to overlook this? Seteth was not sure. However, he knew Rhea long enough to know that her decisions were always for the sake and safety of the Church, Fodlan, and especially themselves. How would this be any different?

"Very well," he conceded. "Rhea… for now, I will have faith that you are placing your trust with the utmost care. I pray that nothing occurs to shake that confidence."

"You have my word, Seteth," Rhea nodded with a graceful smile. Finalizing Byleth's acceptance forms, Rhea proceeded to browse the other. "...Haruki Eisner."

Of course, Jeralt's younger son was another matter. "Compared to Byleth Eisner's professorship," Seteth began, "I have no issue in undergoing a late student registration for Haruki. However, given that there is little to no information about him, I'll have to personally speak with him in order to complete his registration."

"..."

"Rhea?" Seteth called to her. Yet, Rhea's eyes were still glued on Haruki's form. It was unlike her to lose focus, which concerned him.

"Seteth," Rhea finally spoke and glanced over to her advisor. "I have a favor to ask"

The advisor gave her a quizzical look. It was strange of her to ask a favor so readily. Regardless, he gave her a nod in acceptance. But upon hearing her request, he was left even more puzzled than he was before.

Just what did the Archbishop have in her mind?


AN

Hello, everyone!

It feels like a while since I last added a new chapter. Some things came up that kept me from writing for a bit. Luckily, I was able to finish up this chapter. Not much happening. This was more or less like an aftermath of the Skirmish at Remire. Now, whether he likes it or not, Haruki is now on the path of a student in Garreg Mach. Over the next chapters, he will finally be introduced to the people he will now call his fellow classmates and allies!

The Black Kraven: Thank you for your input! No worries, he won't be as OP as he had looked. He may be strong, but he still has a lot to learn. Haruki would definitely fit in the Rouge Class. He specializes with knives and swords, and Speed is his greatest stat. I'm actually formulating a Bio about Haruki's stats, strengths, weaknesses, and a budding talent if anyone was interested in knowing that.

As always, thank you for reading, and I'll see you next time!

-JQ