"I've been wondering something." Corrin said, sitting at one of the dining tables, picking through his food with his fork. "I get that everyone's from a different dimension-"
"Don't." Byleth said, fixing him with a cold stare.
"Well, no, I get it's weird, but why are we-"
"Corrin, don't even go there." Robin hissed quietly, leaning over his food.
"Why are we the only ones who have alternate gender versions of us?!" Corrin exclaimed.
"Hang on, that's a really good point!" Female Corrin called out from another table.
"Sothis help us..." Both Byleth's sighed quietly. Nearby, Sothis's head perked up upon hearing her name.
"Don't bring up things like this, it's too complicated!" Robin groaned. "I've been thinking about this for months! It makes no sense!"
"Right?! There's alternate versions of me, and everyone! But only us three actually have variants of gender!" Corrin slapped his hands down on the table.
"But at the same time, we all believe we're the original! Is there no true version of us?!" Robin cried. Byleth and Byleth grabbed their fishing gear and left.
"I think you're overcomplicating it." Kiran chimed in. "It's not that big of a deal, think of it like a sibling!"
"Yeah, but why don't you have an alternate gender? Where's the-... err... wait, what are you." Robin paused.
"W-What?" Kiran mumbled.
"You know, what gender are you." Robin asked. The whole dining hall went silent.
"Y-...You can't... tell?" Kiran sniffled.
"W-I didn't mean-" Robin panicked.
"How could you, Robin." Corrin frowned.
"Not cool." Female Robin shook her head.
"I- I just mean-!" Robin started, before realizing what was happening. Both of them were covering for themselves, they were throwing him under the cavalry.
He gave them a look, as Kiran ran off sobbing. Everyone ended up feeling bad.
"Hey, Summoner?" Robin called out, knocking on the tactics room. The door creaked open.
Robin nervously stepped inside, using his magic to light the candles. He looked around, and then crouched, seeing Kiran huddled up under the table with a pillow.
"Kiran, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Robin sighed. "I should've been more receptive of your feelings."
"It's... It's okay." Kiran mumbled. "I don't understand."
"Don't understand what?" Robin asked, noticing the awkward contradiction.
"How is it such a mystery!" Kiran bonked against the table, holding their head. "It should be obvious!"
"But you never show your face, and you always wear that cloak." Robin tilted his head.
"Well, I'm shy." Kiran explained, holding their hood down. "Plus, you always wear that cloak of yours too!"
"Ahah... yeah, that's fair." Robin said, taking a seat on the floor. "You can be seen however you want. You don't need to show your face, or use your real name... you can appear how you will."
"...how." Kiran turned towards him. "How did you know about my name?"
"You hide underneath your hood and hardly socialize, and you expect me not to take notice when you hesitate when introducing yourself?" Robin asked.
Kiran buried their face into their knees.
"You know, I have a special bond with Chrom. He and I are the best of friends. Don't you have somebody like that?"
"I don't... I don't think so." Kiran said.
"C'mon, get up. Let's take a walk." Robin extended a hand. Kiran took it, and he lead The Summoner through the grounds of the Order of Heroes in Askr.
"Ooh, I've got it." Robin smiled. Kiran looked up at him. "What about a romantic partner?"
"R-Ro-?! Hold on! No way!" Kiran flailed in embarrassment.
"What? Look, over here!" Robin gestured towards a beautiful beach. "Haven't you ever gotten some sun and met someone you liked?"
Kiran pulled their hood down.
"Ah, right." Robin sighed, noticing Xander walking by. "Hey Xander. Nice inflatable!"
"Ah, hello, Robin. I'm taking advantage of the summer sun." Xander smiled, holding a giant Lilith inflatable. He then gave a slight bow to Kiran, who said nothing.
"Anyways, you really shou-..." Robin paused, as Xander headed down to the beach.
Kiran pulled their hood down more.
"Hmmm? Someone caught your fancy?" Robin bent down a little, catching a glimpse of flushed cheeks.
"Shut it, shut it, shut it! I don't want to hear it!" Kiran pushed his face away.
"Ack! Okay, stop!" Robin stumbled back. "I was only joking! I'm just trying to cheer you up!"
"I just... I'm too shy." Kiran covered their face with their hands.
"Well, maybe you should talk to him more." Robin smiled.
"Ooh, talk to who? What's this about?" Camilla asked, excited for some fun new info.
"Ah, Camilla. Hey. Nothing." Robin said, sort of averting his gaze. Her swimsuit was a tad revealing. He then noticed a droning noise emitting from the short hero Summoner beside him.
"nnnnnnnnnyyEEGGH!" Kiran cried, throwing their hands up into the air, before running off in a blushing storm.
"Gods, Kiran, watch where you're going!" Robin followed them.
"This is so embarrassing!" Kiran cried, running away.
"If you keep running like that you'll fall!" Robin pleaded, struggling to run after the Summoner.
"It's so embarrassing being at the beach! Everyone's just... aaaaaAAAAA!" Kiran stopped at the end of the pier, grabbing their head.
"Come... come on... it's not..." Robin struggled to catch his breath, bending over and holding his knees to keep himself up. "That bad... gah... you've got serious legs..."
"I don't need bonds! All I need is to keep devising battle strategies and helping people in little ways!" Kiran declared.
"But friendship is important!" Robin panted. "You never know when you'll need someone to have your back! Think of how everyone relies on you, how everyone looks to you for guidance. No matter who you are, you're our Summoner!"
"I'm not worth it!" Kiran snapped. The words made Robin stop for a moment.
"...what?"
"I-I mean, I'm not a great hero. I'm just a person. A short person. A weak person."
"But you're a person that everyone respects." Robin straightened up. "Matter of fact, we're all people. I'm a tactician too, I know the allure of being distant, so that my relationships won't cloud my judgement."
"It's... not that. It's just..." Kiran turned slowly, though their foot slipped and the Summoner plunged into the water next to the pier.
"K-Kiran?!" Robin started forward, as another figure leapt in to save the Summoner.
Alfonse dragged Kiran out of the water, setting them down on the pier and sighing in relief. "You have to be careful!"
"A-Alfonse...?" Kiran looked up at him, though Robin had vanished.
"You scared me. I knew something was wrong." Alfonse said, helping Kiran up. "Come on, let's get you dried off, you smell like fish."
As Kiran was led away, the soggy Summoner saw Robin tactfully hiding behind a corner, giving a thumbs up.
Once they had left, Robin laughed quietly to himself, thankful that Kiran had his own Chrom.
Upon turning around and spotting the bitter Plegian stalker of his, he noticed that Kiran, too, had his own admirer.
Someone was watching them alongside Tharja, but disappeared quickly from view.
Alright, I had some fun with it. This chapter was a bit of exploration into who the Summoner is. While it would be good to keep Kiran as mysterious as possible as a vessel for the player, I feel that it might be more fun and interesting to have more character development.
If you're reading this, consider leaving your thoughts. I'm interested in hearing whether or not it would be interesting to see Kiran grow, or if you would prefer for Kiran to remain enshrouded in mystery.
I personally think it might be fun to witness Kiran grow from their experiences, becoming more open, revealing more about themselves. Sure, it loses accessibility as an identity-less character, but maybe it'll be more wholesome in the end.
Of course, please always feel free to leave a review, and include some suggestions as well!
Thanks for reading this latest chapter!
