Pikatwig: Choices… choices… *just stares at Nintendo eShop money and then at a small paper that read "Isle of Armor/Crown Tundra vs. Three Houses Expansion Pass".* Only enough for one right now… *sighs and set the card aside*
KKD: *walks in* Hey! Merry Christmas.
Pikatwg: Hey.
KKD: You enjoying the holiday, bud?
Pikatwig: It was good. Something didn't exactly go the way I was hoping it would, not related to the holiday, but something else went a bit… south. Then again, it's 2020.
KKD: Yeah…
Hinata: Can we all agree that we all just want to torch 2020 in a dumpster fire?
KKD: More than you know.
Pikatwig: Anyway… *sets the paper aside* I got some good gifts. And I did a handful of gatcha rolls in mobile games with stuff I had been saving up over time and got some nice stuff. Only two I didn't roll in were Duel Links and Masters. Former because I didn't have enough, and the latter, saving up for a datamined character. Thank you, dataminers.
KKD: No thanks for them showing May got paired with Mudkip. LAME~!
Pikatwig: Moving along. We got a project that has a bit of an interesting history to it. So, I had started this story with it sort of being intended as an anniversary story for Fire Emblem, but then I hit a road block. After being stumped for months, I decided to ask you to help me out with it… with the sole agreement to it that you won't complain about the ships that this story will end up with. ...not that any are currently set in stone, but you agreed to that already.
KKD: True, I guess.
Pikatwig: So, a reimagining of Three Houses in somewhat modern times. I say somewhat because we're dating this to 2016 and not 2020.
KKD: Probably for the best considering the mess 2020 is now, but that's besides the point.
Pikatwig: I think we'll go ahead and get this going, though.
KKD: Right. Here we go.
Disclaimers: I don't does not own the rights to Fire Emblem or anything related within. Those rights belong to Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, and their respective owners.
Friday. April 8th, 2016.
It was a rather quiet, rainy, evening as a car drove down the road towards its destination. Its driver was a man that looked to be roughly in his 40s, had paleish blonde hair, a large beard of a similar color, brown eyes, was wearing a black jacket, a pair of blue jeans, black shoes, and he had a gold badge that was resting near one of his pockets. He gave a small sigh as he glanced towards the clock and then to the rear view mirror so as to get a view of the back row of the car to see two individuals had fallen asleep. He refocused his eyes on the row, continuing to drive in relative silence, before he heard a beeping.
"Now… seriously…?" he muttered, seeing it was a light indicating that the car was running out of fuel. He gave off a heavy sigh, slowing down at a stop light, and then turning on a GPS to figure out where the nearest gas station would be. His sour expression turned into a happier one as he saw that one was close by the town they were driving to and wouldn't be too far away from where they currently were. The light had not yet turned green, so he turned around to the back row of the car.
In the back row were two teenagers that looked to be roughly 16 years old, one male and one female. The one on the left side of the back row was the female one, who had short blueish hair that just reached her shoulders, was wearing a t-shirt that was a pale blue shade, a jacket, a pair of black shorts that stopped just above her knees, and she currently had a pair of slippers on instead of shoes. The male to the right had the same hair color, except far shorter, a white t-shirt, black sweatpants, and a pair of plain white socks on. Both of them were asleep, the male resting his head against the side of the car, the female resting against a pillow, and they both looked rather peaceful.
The driver of the car simply kept his eyes on them for a bit longer before he saw the light turn green and he got the car going. After about ten minutes of driving, they finally pulled up at the gas station and underneath a roof. The driver simply smiled a little as he set the car to park, got unbuckled, and then turned towards the teens in the back.
"Hey, you two, wake up," he told them gently, lightly shaking the shoulder of the male.
After a bit, the male woke up. He gave a soft groan as he looked around, the sound causing the girl next to him to start to wake up as well.
"Hey dad…" the male greeted.
"Are we there yet?" the female questioned.
"Almost. Car was going to run out of gas, so we had to pull up to a gas station," their father explained, "Gonna go ahead and work on that. You two get out, stretch, and see if there's anything you want inside the station."
"Alright," the male nodded as he unbuckled himself and slipped on some shoes before getting out of the car, "Come on, Ryuko."
"Give me a minute…" the female, Ryuko, mumbled. She moved the pillow out of her way, got out of the slippers, put on some sandals, put on a pair of red rimmed glasses, and then got out herself.
Both closed the doors of the van that they were in, accepted some money from their father, and headed into the station. It was rather run of the mill with various aisles that had food, supplies, some novelty t-shirts, a coffee machine, a soda fountain, an iccee machine, bathrooms, the pay area, and a station that had some bread that had a smell that covered most of the inside area. Ryuko seemed to gravitate towards the iccee machine that was in the back, while the male seemed a bit more contemplative.
"I'll get you one, too, Byleth," Ryuko told him.
"Alright. I'll go see how much the bread costs and see if we can eat some dinner before we get to town," the male, Byleth, responded.
With the small exchange out of the way, the twins split off to take care of that. Ryuko just looked around out the windows and began to fill in the drinks. Byleth, meanwhile, quietly looked over the prices and the quality of the breads that were on display. He then requested a loaf of sourdough and white bread, and made his payments as Ryuko approached with one blue and one brown iccee. She handed the blue one to her brother and he simply paid for the two drinks.
The family was back within the car after it was fueled with gas. Their father simply enjoyed the sandwich that he had made for himself, while the twins were a bit more quiet while having their food. He looked towards them in a bit of concern, not being sure how to break the ice, contemplating on what to say before Byleth looked towards a map that was nearby.
"How much longer, dad?" Byleth proceeded to ask.
"A few more hours, but we'll be in town soon," he assured them.
"I hope so," Ryuko muttered as she had her own sandwich. She was a bit more quiet than her brother, but she was a bit more calm
"Your grandmother is hoping to see you two soon. She won't stop texting me about you two… and being a critic about me…" their dad admitted, nervously chuckling, trying to keep the mood a little light, but only Byleth laughed with his dad, if only to humor him while Ryuko remained silent.
"I'm going to try to go back to sleep when we get back to driving…" Ryuko told them.
"Alright," their dad stated, "Just make sure you finish eating and are ready for the trip. Your grandmother is hoping we'll show up tonight and not tomorrow…"
Ryuko gave a nod without saying anything else. Byleth nodding as well before going at his food at a bit more of a natural pace. Their dad proceeded to wipe off some ketchup from his face before he heard his phone buzz. He looked at the contact ID and let out a sigh.
"Grandma?" Byleth questioned.
"Eeyup…" their dad exhaled, "Gotta answer it while I can…"
"Go ahead. I'll keep an eye on Ryuko," Byleth assured as their dad nodded, and picked up the phone.
He headed out of the car and then sighed, but nonetheless picked it up, "...hello?"
"Where are you?! You told you'd be here by the end of the day and it's already 9:15!"
"Hello…"
"Don't you 'hello' me, Jeralt! I know you had a rough time, but I need to know you and my grandchildren are safe!"
"And by 'you and my grandchildren', you're really saying you're just concerned about the twins. I know how you act…" Jeralt exhaled, "Sorry… we just went through a lot of driving and had to stop to refuel the car.
"*sighs* As long as you get here. I'm sorry about my attitude, but… I just want what's left of my daughter to be by my side…"
"We'll hurry it up as best we can. See you around…" Jeralt told her.
Thus, the woman on the other end hung up. Jeralt just rubbed his forehead a little before he saw a text from somebody else and just saw it read "wish you well". He simply typed out "thank you" in response.
Byleth just kept an eye on his sister, who had finished eating and was working on the drink she had bought. She kept her gaze outside, looking at the light rainfall that was occurring, making fingerprint drawings on the window out of boredom.
"You going to be ok?" Byleth asked her.
"Yeah… I should be…" Ryuko told Byleth without looking at him.
The older twin could only exhale a bit, not quite getting his sister, but deciding to leave her to her thoughts. Their dad eventually climbed back in and Ryuko quietly set her unfinished drink in a cup holder in front of her.
"You two set to go?" he asked.
Both proceeded to nod in response and he got the car on. Ryuko slipped off her glasses and tried to get into a comfortable position to sleep the rest of the trip as Byleth just kept his eyes out the window as their dad took off. The ride was in mostly silence, with about a half hour passing by with the only sounds being the car moving, the rain falling, and sounds of Ryuko slightly moving in her slumber.
"So… grandma has a house prepared for us, right?" Byleth asked.
"A house, yes. We still need to do all of the unpacking, at least at the moment, but she had some beds and necessities set up," Jeralt informed.
"That should help the transition, I guess," Byleth shrugged.
It was close to 9:50pm by the time the car finally pulled up to a sign that read "Welcome to Fódlan". Jeralt smiled, knowing he was getting closer, and he continued forward into the town. It was a rather calm looking town, various houses and businesses being at various points across the town, with the two biggest highlights of the town being the large church close to the town's center and the well-known Garreg Mach High School being practically next door to the church with three different buildings that were prominent from the front though he knew there were more in the back.
After some time, the car pulled up by the church and Jeralt could see somebody standing and waiting for him. He sighed and got out, then spoke with the person. Byleth, who was still somewhat awake, couldn't hear what they were saying, but saw the person give his dad a pair of keys. Byleth gave a small wave to the other person, realizing it was his grandmother, and she simply waved back. Jeralt got back into the car and continued to drive.
"Your grandmother wanted to talk to you two, but she saw that Ryuko was asleep and you're nearly asleep yourself, so she's willing to wait…" Jeralt told the half-asleep Byleth.
"Alright…" he mumbled in response.
Saturday. April 9th, 2016.
Ryuko slowly began to stir, but felt that the area beneath her was different from the car. She rubbed her eyes and saw that she was in a bed in a room that was filled with boxes.
"Good morning," Byleth greeted.
"Morning…" Ryuko responded.
"Dad had to carry us both in last night. You wouldn't wake up and I was about ready to fall asleep on the spot…" Byleth admitted.
Ryuko couldn't help but snicker a little at that, getting up out of her bed, playfully punching her brother in the arm, making him chuckle lightly.
"Dad said he's getting stuff ready, but told me to get you up and show you the kitchen."
"Just let me get my glasses and I'll be good to go," Ryuko told him.
"All right. I'll let him know you're up, then," he nodded, leaving Ryuko to herself.
The younger twin let out a small exhale. She looked towards the nightstand and saw her glasses were resting there, picked them up and put them on. After a moment, she did a motion as if she was putting a mask on, rubbed her cheeks a little, and then clapped her hands.
"Present your best self…" she muttered, "Present your best self…"
Once she hyped herself up enough, Ryuko exited the room and headed towards the sounds coming from the kitchen. She saw her dad was working on some breakfast, and Byleth was working on some coffee with a coffee maker.
"Good morning," she greeted.
"Morning," Jeralt responded.
Ryuko walked past her brother and took a seat at the table where she just stared off into space.
"...so… where's grandma?" Ryuko checked.
"She's busy preparing her next sermon…" Jeralt stated.
"Ah. Of course…" Ryuko exhaled.
"She was at least willing to respect you two were pretty much conked out…"
Ryuko gave a nod, sort of not paying attention to what her brother and father were talking about, before she gave an annoyed exhale, "That drink is disgusting smelling!"
"It does not, and it tastes good!" Byleth retorted.
"It's disgusting! It's too bitter and leaves an awful aftertaste!" Ryuko whined, shuddering in disgust.
"Now Ryuko, there's no need to act that way…" Jeralt told her, although he couldn't help but have a faint smile at their squabble.
Ryuko simply gave an annoyed huff as her brother sat down across from her.
"Now, your grandmother is going to be busy the next two days, but she did tell me she's sending students over from the school in order to greet you and give you a bit of a tour," Jeralt informed the twins, joining them for breakfast.
"Did she say their names?" Byleth questioned.
Jeralt was about to respond, but stopped to think about it. He then let out a heavy exhale, "No… she didn't."
"Did she at least tell you what they look like?" Ryuko questioned.
"Yes. A girl with white hair and purplish eyes wearing mostly red, a blonde boy with green eyes in black and blue, and a darker toned young man with black and yellow on."
"Well… the girl should stand out at least…" Byleth figured.
"They're going to be coming by the house to get you two and show you around. I'll be busy filling out forms for my transfer, so I may be busy for most of the day. I will try to be back before the end of the day," Jeralt told them.
Ryuko nervously looked towards her dad, a bit of a flashback about what happened that caused them to move playing through her mind, but she quickly regained her grip on reality before meekly and nervously speaking, "...are you… sure you want to keep being a police officer, dad?"
Jeralt turned towards Ryuko and saw a shift in her body language and tone.
"It's just… your job is what caused this in the first place…" Ryuko quietly stated.
"I heard that, Ryuko…" Jeralt informed before he sharply exhaled, "And I honestly don't know what to tell you. I was just trying to protect others and… *sighs* Anyway, I need to at least give my forms in so they can consider it."
"...alright… but…" Ryuko stammered.
"We can talk about any issues later, Ryuko. Right now, just try and enjoy breakfast and look forward to the rest of the day."
Ryuko ended up stammering a bit more, but eventually got quiet after about a minute.
Byleth simply looked over his breakfast as the two simply stared at each-other before he went over for a container of ketchup. He walked back over, but it slipped out of his hands and some ketchup ended up getting onto his clothes.
"Dangit!" he yelled.
Ryuko and Jeralt turned towards him, but Ryuko almost seemed to freeze upon seeing the red stain on his clothes. Jeralt could only sigh in response to what happened as he proceeded to get the ketchup bottle off of the ground. However, neither Byleth or Jeralt heard Ryuko begin to mumble to herself.
"Eh… I needed to get some new clothes on anyway…" Byleth muttered, "I'll be back, you two."
"Alright…" Jeralt stated.
Ryuko continued to mumble a bit more as Jeralt turned his attention back towards her and he slowly got closer to her to hear what she was saying.
"...not blood… not blood… not blood…" Ryuko mumbled to herself on repeat, trying to calm herself down, turning away to take some deep breaths and not think about what just happened. She continued to mumble a bit longer before she finally managed to calm herself down a little more.
"...are you alright?" Jeralt calmly asked her.
Ryuko didn't say anything at first before she eventually gave a nod and took a calming breath. She then turned towards her dad before speaking, "...sorry."
"Don't worry about it now, Ryuko. For now, just try and eat something and get ready to meet the students from the school, ok?"
"...ok…" she nodded, starting to eat her food and try to remain calm.
After they finished, their dad headed off for work. Byleth, now in a black t-shirt with what looked like gold feathers on the front and blue-black jeans with white socks on, saw his sister sitting in what would be the living room and on her phone. He quietly approached her and heard her softly singing.
"Don't lose your way~... in your mind… we have to be as one… don't be afraid, my sweet heart. This is the way to be more strong…" she sang.
"Hey," Byleth told her, making her jump back and point her phone at him, "...when did you get so jumpy?"
Ryuko eased up a bit and gave an annoyed look at her brother, "After what happened… can you blame me?"
"Fair. Uh… the shower is running, and grandma left some clean clothes for us," Byleth informed.
"With how she spoils us, you'd think we were six instead of sixteen…" Ryuko exhaled. She then put her phone into an outlet and headed for the bathroom.
"Sorry for scaring you…" Byleth apologized.
Ryuko didn't say anything in response to this before she got into the shower.
Ryuko soon exited the bathroom, now wearing a white top that had silver highlights, a black skirt, and her red glasses. She walked over to her brother and simply waved.
"You ready? Dad left a text saying that they'd be here around noonish," Byleth informed.
Ryuko nodded. Byleth then headed over to the door and Ryuko took a moment to look at her reflection and did the sort of putting on mask motion she did and tried to be as calm as she could. After about a minute of calming and readying herself, she joined her brother by the door.
"What do you think they'll be like?" Ryuko couldn't help but ask.
"Honestly? Knowing this town, at least ONE of them is going to be pretty religious…" Byleth remarked.
"Oh… right. I forgot for a moment…" Ryuko mumbled.
"Um…?"
"Can we… not? Please?"
Byleth just conceded to his sister's request. Soon, a knock came on the door. They quickly walked to the door, Byleth opening it to see a girl with white hair that looked their age, lavender eyes, and was wearing a black and red dress with high heels that made her about Byleth's height. Next to her was a male that was of a similar age, having blonde hair that was a bit long yet neatly cut, green eyes, and was wearing a blue collared shirt, black jeans and shoes. Finally, was a male with messy black hair and darker skin with a yellow t-shirt, orange vest, black shorts, and brown boots.
"Hello," Byleth greeted.
"Greetings," the girl with white hair smiled with a bit of a bow, "Principal Rhea told us that you two were new to town and would start attending our lovely school on Monday, so she sent us to greet you."
"...I forgot grandma was in charge of the school…" Ryuko muttered, putting her face into her palms.
"Well… our semester is going to be very interesting, to say the least…" Byleth stated. He then looked at the girl, "My name's Byleth Eisner, and this is my twin sister Ryuko."
"Pleasure to meet you both. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, the student council president of Garreg Mach High School," the girl greeted, "And these are two of my fellow classmates and student council members. Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, he is the student council historian, and meet our social media manager, Claude von Reigan."
"Rather regal names for normal kids," Ryuko whispered to her brother.
"It's nice to meet the grandchildren of our president and the pastor of the church. I hope we will properly get to know each-other and become good friends," Dimitri respectfully greeted.
"Wassup?" Claude said in a very casual manner.
"Claude, that is too informal..." Dimitri told him.
"Easy, easy," Byleth told them, "Don't give us any special treatment. Just treat us like your fellow classmates…"
"Not what the principal said…" Claude proceeded to add on, "She told us to 'roll out the red carpet for her favorite grandkids'."
"CLAUDE!" Dimitri and Edelgard both yelled.
"I'd believe it…" Byleth sighed.
"So do I…" Ryuko exhaled.
"Is this too much?" Edelgard asked.
"What do you mean?" Byleth questioned.
"Isn't it obvious? As much as Grandma loves us, she tends to go overboard with… pretty much everything. She even left us these outfits to wear today…" Ryuko exhaled, "She was even yelling at our dad over the phone for us being a little late to arrive."
"...come to think of it… that does sound like Principal Rhea" Claude admitted.
"I'm telling her you said that," Dimitri quickly informed.
"Pssh. It's not like we're actually gonna get in trouble for talking about her in such a calm way," Claude shrugged off, "Sides, we're off duty."
"We're doing something for the school, so no, we aren't!"
Edelgard proceeded to give a frustrated glare at both of them, but they didn't stop and she proceeded to literally snap her fingers at the two to try to make them stop arguing.
After watching this, Ryuko began to snicker at the scene before her, making the students turn in surprise.
"Huh?"
"You three are so funny!" Ryuko stated before she broke out laughing.
"Sis, please," Byleth sighed.
Edelgard turned towards them and calmly exhaled before managing to straighten herself out and turned to the twins, "Anyway! Are you two ready to go?"
"Just a second…" Ryuko stated as she put on some sandals, "Ok. Good to go."
"Why the sandals?" Edelgard asked.
"Preference," Ryuko stated as she stepped out.
"AKA, she doesn't know how to tie laces…" Byleth explained to the trio.
"I heard that…" Ryuko growled.
The others couldn't help but chuckle/giggle at that before Edelgard cleared her throat.
"Now then, permit me to guide you around our lovely town a-" Edelgard began to speak.
"There's no need to be so formal," Byleth assured her.
"Well… if you say so…" Edelgard nervously responded.
The five roamed around the small town for a bit, even of the students taking a chance to highlight various parts of town before they arrived in front of the largest building in town.
"And presenting our glorious landmark, the Church of Serios!" Dimitri proudly proclaimed.
"Ah, yes…" Edelgard stated.
"Established back in 1813, the church has stood the test of time even amongst all of the settlers of this nation. It is the third most followed religion in all of the US, with our church at its center and many offshoots across the land. With the glorious light of Seiros we are protected and gifted by her divinity, and all followers of Seiros-" Dimitri babbled on before...
"...we know…" Byleth and Ryuko both stated.
"Grandma would tell us this story all the time," Ryuko sighed.
"Oh… uh… my apologies…" Dimitri told the two.
"I told you that you wouldn't need to explain this to them, but you didn't listen…" Edelgard told him, "Just… can we go over to the front of the school now?"
"Did you know that our school was once a part of the church, but the school committee had it be separated owing to legal issues?" Dimitri asked.
"That I didn't," Byleth admitted, making Dimitri smile cheerfully before leading the group into the school.
"He's a big dork when it comes to Fodlan and the church," Claude whispered.
"No~..." Byleth sarcastically responded.
Ryuko couldn't help but try to stifle a giggle before clearing her throat and noticing Edelgard was smiling at her, "Um… hi?"
"Oh! Sorry, I… I didn't mean to be staring!" Edelgard quickly apologized.
Ryuko simply nodded her head a bit in response. Edelgard quickly walked up to the front of the group, lightly bumping Dimitri out of her way by accident.
"Sorry!"
"It's fine," Dimitri assured her.
"Are they a couple or something?" Byleth whispered to Claude.
"Nope," Claude informed, "What gave you that idea?"
"I dunno…" Byleth shrugged.
"Well, if we're playing a question game, is your name 'Bey-leth' or 'Bi-leth'?" Claude asked, "Trust me, I know the issues of mispronouncing names. Get 'Cloud' a lot…"
"It's the latter, for the record," Byleth explained.
Edelgard gave them a motion to stop and then motioned towards a door. She took out a key and opened it up, "This is the student council room. Hubert, are you there?"
From a corner of the room walked over a tall young man with black hair partially covering an eye, wearing a black top with black pants, a white undershirt, golden cuffs on his top, black shoes and he was with something in his hands.
"...scary…" Ryuko muttered.
"Ah, the principal's grandchildren. We have been expecting you," Hubert greeted, "I am the vice president of the student council, Hubert von Vestra."
"Is… that the uniform?" Byleth nervously asked.
"Yes, but the uniform is not mandatory. Lady Edelgard made sure of that," Hubert explained.
"Considering we had somebody pass out from how hot the uniform could get and very nearly died… that was for the best…" Edelgard muttered.
"However, there are many rules and regulations enforced at the school, so if you are to attend, I insist you read this," Hubert added, placing a book into Byleth's hands, "Now, if you don't mind, I have things to attend to while Lady Edelgard is occupied."
"Don't work yourself too hard, Hubert," Edelgard told him.
Hubert just stepped back as Edelgard guided the group out of the room.
Over at the police station around the same time, Jeralt pulled up and exited his car. He looked over at how short the line was and nervously headed on in.
"Just a moment, sir," a woman with blue hair behind the desk requested, typing up something and working on a call before turning to Jeralt, "Sorry for the wait. How can I help you?"
"I'm here about the transfer…"
The woman checked the schedule nearby her, "Jeralt Eisner. Just give me one minute and I'll inform the others you're here."
Jeralt sighed as he tried to sit down and remain calm.
"Jeralt?" he heard before seeing a much younger man in a uniform approach, and despite his age, he looked familiar with his brown hair and mustache, "Jeralt! It's good to see you again!"
"Alois… I wasn't expecting you to still be here…" Jeralt admitted.
"Hey, Shamir, you know who this is?" Alois asked, turning to the woman by the desk.
"The man who arrested the leader of Those Who Slither in the Dark?"
"No, he's-" Alois started before he realized what she said, "Oh… you already knew."
"It was all over the news! Only people who live under a rock wouldn't know that..."
"Trust me, I'm fully aware of the 'fame' I've garnered for what I did…" Jeralt sighed.
"I heard about what happened. I apologize for your loss…" Shamir stated, "But… such is the life of those who wed into people in any line of duty."
"How are the twins taking it?" Alois couldn't help but ask.
In response, though, Jeralt didn't say anything. This silence was enough for the two officers to clue in.
"I see. Sorry to hear, sir. I hope they'll make a swift recovery…" Alois apologized. He then took the files from Shamir, "Anyway… your transfer? Already approved. Welcome to the Fódlan Police Department."
"...no interview? No check of stability? No nothing?" Jeralt asked in surprise.
"Given what you accomplished, none of it's needed!" Alois smiled, "Welcome back, old friend. It's been too long! Wanna head out for drinks tonight?"
"I wish I could, but I need to be back home to make sure the twins settle in before we officially do… anything, really."
"Heard their grandmother was planning on giving them special treatment. I was hoping to talk some sense into her, but then I got preoccupied…" Shamir informed.
All Jeralt could do was let out a heavy sigh in response. But he couldn't help but chuckle a little when he saw his old friends.
Back over with the five teens, they had arrived at a café not too far from the school. Byleth and Dimitri ordered two large coffees, which deterred Ryuko, as Edelgard tried to enjoy a cup of tea, and Claude typed away on his phone.
"Coffee is so gross smelling…" Ryuko stated, trying to scoot away from Byleth and Dimitri both having some.
"I have to agree with the smell being bad…" Edelgard admitted, "Tea is much preferable."
"Tea's gross too…" Ryuko added.
"...have you previously had unsweetened tea?"
"I can't remember…"
"These two have this debate all the dang time…" Claude sighed, "There was one time when we were in middle school where…"
"Don't you dare!" both Edelgard and Dimitri nearly shouted.
"They had this debate about which was better and began to throw packets at each-other until their clothes were stuck with the smell for about a week."
"CLAUDE!"
Claude couldn't help but laugh in response before the two simply turned away from him.
"...everytime I hear them say his name, I think they're calling him a 'clod'..." Ryuko whispered.
Byleth couldn't help but smile and snicker a little bit.
With that, the five were mostly silent as they just sort of took in the atmosphere of the cafe. Ryuko simply smiled at the area and how peaceful it felt regardless of the aromas from the place, simply trying to enjoy a pastry.
"If you don't mind us asking… where are you two from?" Dimitri asked.
"Yeah, the principal didn't really tell us much about you two other than that we needed to show you around and you two are twins," Claude added.
"I'll admit, when I saw your names, I was in a bit of disbelief that you two are twins…" Edelgard sheepishly admitted, "Your names are fine, don't get me wrong, but… well… one sounds like it's a mythological creature… and the other is Japanese…"
"Our parents weren't expecting twins…" Byleth began to explain, "The scans they had always only showed them one kid. So, they picked out 'Byleth' for a name because of some old creature related to the Serios mythology."
"Which makes me really glad I didn't get stuck with that name…" Ryuko muttered.
"Around the time we were born, they were hosting these two Japanese friends of theirs while they were planning to make the trip back over to Japan. Then, both of us were born, and they had no idea what to call my sister because they really weren't expecting twins. Because they were so stumped on one name, they asked those friends to pick any name they thought would fit… and they came up with Ryuko."
"Yea. I think it was because it was the name of some character they liked from a show or something. I'm content with it because it's pretty unique," Ryuko added.
"Huh. Interesting," Edelgard whispered, "So… you're not Japanese in any way?"
"Nope," the twins said in unison.
"Trust me… I get enough people asking me to translate anime for them that I had to say on my social media account 'I am not qualified to translate Japanese'. Seriously, it got annoying fast…" Ryuko exhaled.
Claude couldn't help but let out a soft snicker at that, leading to Dimitri giving him an annoyed look to try to make him stop.
"Um… I think it's pretty cool sounding," Edelgard complimented, "Not many students with Asian names actually come to Fódlan."
"Thanks. Um… I think your name is cool too. Never heard anything like it before…" Ryuko responded.
This ended up making Edelgard faintly blush, not that Ryuko seemed to notice, but the boys just shrugged as they returned to conversation.
"I assume you two lived here before, correct?" Dimitri checked with Byleth.
"If we did, then I really don't remember…" Byleth told Dimitri.
"I have a very faint, blurred, memory of us being at a park in this town, but if we lived here or were just here on vacation… I don't know…" Ryuko added.
"I see," Dimitri nodded, "Either way, I do hope you will enjoy living here."
Ryuko gave a small nod of her head before going back to her pastry. Edelgard and Claude both watched her a little bit
"Where exactly did you two move from?"
"San Angeles," Byleth stated without missing a beat.
"California? Feels like a strange leap coming from a popular state to a state more… how can I put this...?" Dimitri began.
"Backwater?" Edelgard offered.
"I would have preferred something like underdeveloped…"
"Our high school there was nuts…" Byleth stated bluntly.
"Can we… not right now?" Ryuko requested, "We just got here and I'd like to start settling in a bit more before we share the stories of that mess of a school…"
"Oh, right. Sorry, sis."
"I'll try and remind these two to have a little more tact around you two," Claude assured them.
It was now around 3pm and the group was simply roaming the town a little. Ryuko and Byleth seemed a bit more at ease as they talked with the three. Although, after a bit, Byleth motioned for his sister to get closer so he could whisper to her.
"I'm thinking the girl might be crushing on you…" Byleth whispered.
"I doubt it. We've only just met, and it's not like a girl would crush on me in less than a day of knowing me…" Ryuko whispered back.
"Uh huh. I'm sure you'll spot it," Byleth shrugged.
Edelgard looked towards Ryuko and simply smiled at her a little. She seemed to almost be lost in how pretty Ryuko was. As she did, Dimitri and Claude rolled their eyes and stopped walking. However, Edelgard just kept going.
"Hey!"
Ryuko grabbed her arm, pulling her back to the group, causing the white haired girl to stumble back a bit. Edelgard snapped out of her thoughts and saw she had walked through the path when the cars were being given the green light, she looked up to Ryuko and blushed, causing Ryuko to put a hand on Edelgard's forehead.
"I'm okay…" Edelgard told her.
"Right… at least you're safe," Ryuko smiled.
After a bit, the stop sign turned red for the cars and allowed the group to walk forward. This time, Edelgard stayed close to the Eisner twins while Dimitri and Claude led the way.
"Well, that's about all the town has to offer," Edelgard informed as the group returned to the Eisner's home.
"Certainly going to take some getting used to," Ryuko admitted.
"Hopefully you guys will get used to it fast seeing how quickly you'll be dropped into the school year..." Claude chimed in, "But you don't need to start until after next week. The principal wanted to give you time to settle in."
"She did also inform us that she'd like to see you at the church tomorrow since it is Sunday," Dimitri informed.
"...with her, that's less of a request and more an order…" Byleth stated.
Ryuko didn't say anything as she got out the key to the house. She then turned towards the trio, "Thanks for showing us around. I appreciate it."
"Hopefully we will see you in service tomorrow," Dimitri told them before he headed off.
"See ya," Claude mock saluted as he headed off.
Byleth just waved to the group before he headed inside.
"...thank you. I hope we'll get to be friends," Edelgard told Ryuko before walking off.
"We'll see…" Ryuko shrugged.
Meanwhile, some distance away, there was a person in shadowy outfit that was sitting at a computer and searching through various information banks. They said nothing as they typed away at the computer, with the monitor displaying some small info about Jeralt and the simple question of where he was…
Pikatwig: Before I get asked, no ships are set in stone yet. So, while this may start to seem a bit like Edelgard with female Byleth, it's not set in stone yet. ...no ship really IS at this point.
KKD: It's early in the story, so while we drop hints, no guarantees those ships will be a thing.
Pikatwig: I will say that we won't have every Three Houses character in this. It'll start out a bit small and then we'll slowly expand outwards. May help when I finally get off my lazy butt and play Three Houses…
KKD: Yea. I'm only one man, and it took me months to finish the Three Houses review I posted on DA.
Pikatwig: And let's not worry about the Three Houses, One Nation Gaiden thing…
KKD: Yeah…
Hinata: You two are both bad at keeping something in intended release windows.
Pikatwig: Tell us something we don't know.
Hinata: Without mucus, your stomach would digest itself.
Pikatwig: Tell us something else we don't know. Something less… gross.
Hinata: 2021 will probably also be an iffy year.
KKD: Something more optimistic at least?
Hinata: Hopefully, somebody will start playing Three Houses.
Pikatwig: Alright… but, thoughts on chapter. I feel like we at least got a good starting point for this new world and are slowly establishing things.
KKD: Simple world building at the start and establishing how these characters are different is always a good start.
Pikatwig: This story is going to be an interesting one I feel. However, you'll see more in due time. Favorite part… I think it was just some of the interactions between the twins and the revised House leaders. It was kind of fun to have all five of them interact.
KKD: Yea, easy favorite as well. Sure, we got some action foreshadowing, but it's mostly just a slice of life story that might work well.
Pikatwig: I hope you all enjoyed it. Also, Merry Christmas, and happy eventual New Year. 2021 doesn't have to do much to make up for the fire this year became.
*Hinata then walked off, came back with some papers that said '2020' on them, put them into a small fireplace, and set them ablaze.*
KKD: And with that, we're done for 2020. Take care and here's hoping 2021 turns out better. *Salutes* Jaa ne.
Pikatwig: Just Live More.
