Chapter 4
Futaba
Futaba sighed and plopped her head down on the papers in front of her. Her glasses smushed into her eyelids. Uncomfortable at her position, she moved her head sideways, looking at Byleth's calm face. Although, calm wasn't the right way to put it.
He looked terrible.
Professor Byleth has been coming to help her with forms and getting ready for the transfer exams for the past week, and the group has yet to be back to the Professor's Palace due to everyone being busy with one thing or another. His became marred with a depressing look.
There were even bags under his normally pristine face.
On the first day of tutoring, Futaba noticed that he was definitely less talkative and looked depressed compared to his Shadow, but she brushed it off, knowing that Professor Byleth was more reserved in the real world.
The next few days, however, were surely not normal. Akira told her that Professor Byleth looked really tired (yet still strong as hell) during kendo practice.
It made Futaba question about the work he had to do as a school teacher, kendo instructor/champion, AND her tutor. He must have a LOT of things on his plate.
Professor Byleth became less and less talkative and more and more tired-looking as the week went by, and Futaba could not help but think about her own Palace haunting her with hallucinations.
Maybe… he's facing the same as me? Did he let his students get killed? What makes him have so much guilt?
Yet, he expertly continued with his work in school and kendo.
Futaba wondered when he would break. She was sure that his façade could not last long and was determined to steal his heart and change his cognition quickly.
Byleth
Byleth has been having even worse dreams lately. It's not much different from his normal dreams of his past students, but compared to just three or four hours of sleep every night, he has been staying up all night because every time he closed his eyes, he was reminded of his father's inevitable death.
"Have you not been sleeping lately?" Master Yamamoto's looked worriedly as Byleth's normally calm face was devoid of any life. He has never seen Byleth this tired and saddened. Byleth's eyes looked haunted. Yes, there were times when his student/protegee/son has not slept for several days before. But never to this extent.
"I've been having these dreams…" but Byleth stopped and his eyes went up.
He could imagine his father saying, The dream about the girl again?
Master Yamamoto looked at Byleth's tense expression. "Bereto… I know that you've been working yourself out much more lately. You really need some rest."
Byleth frowned, his eyes still void of any light. "But the competition…" He gripped his shinai harder.
Master Yamamoto sighed.
"You don't have to go to the competition. What you need is rest."
Byleth's face unwavered and continued to hold the shinai up wordlessly.
"Fine. You are going to do five more sets of the katas and some more conditioning. Hopefully some exercise will help you go to sleep more easily"
Byleth only wished for the same.
Maruki
"Eisner-sensei…" Maruki-sensei stopped Byleth as he walked past the nurse's office. "Do you want to come in and have a chat while you eat some snacks? I have noticed that you have not been your normal self lately…"
Byleth looked at Maruki and nodded.
"Let me bring some tea."
"Oh! You don't have to! I have some drinks. You can choose anything you want!"
"I insist," and Byleth move his legs with long strides to his office, set on getting some tea that Maruki would like.
He was too fast for Maruki to stop him.
"I just wanted you to rest for a little… haaa… and caffeine does not sound good for him right now." Maruki sighed. He knew that Eisner-sensei has been a pseudo-counselor for the students at Shujin and worked really hard to help his students outside of his class before he came to be the school counselor. He also knew that Eisner-sensei has been working nonstop lately. His expression has become more haggard and depressed. He shows signs of not sleeping and depression, and Maruki wanted to help him.
Hopefully, talking to him will alleviate the troubles that Eisner-sensei has been experiencing.
.
Maruki sighed inwardly as Byleth asked him about cognitive psience and made Maruki talk about his own interest. It seemed as if Maruki was talking with an expert counselor instead of a teacher. He wasn't even a good conversationalist.
The talk wasn't supposed to go like this….
Yusuke
Yusuke wiped the sweat off his brow as he huffed in exhaustion. He gripped his men loosely in his left hand, while his right searched for his nearly empty water bottle in his bag.
He just finished his beginner lessons with Eisner-sensei, who—although looked awfully distressed and tired—didn't seem to break a sweat. His four fellow classmates taking the class with him (the names escaped him due to their lack of interest in interacting with Yusuke outside of the bouts) also guzzled their water bottles while one doused his head with whatever water he had left.
"Good job, everyone." Eisner-sensei's stern yet encouraging comment made Yusuke feel the adrenaline that he normally gets after a great workout.
As an artist, Yusuke had not done much physical exercise other than the very lax school P.E. classes he had to take. However, after becoming a Phantom Thief and having to run away from shadows or a crumbling Palace, Yusuke pushed himself to become more physically fit.
Yusuke remarked how his katana skills have increased over the past two months he has been taught kendo from Eisner-sensei. Ryuji has dropped after two week, preferring the wild swings of his bat compared to the pristine form that kendo demanded. Akira was unable to accompany Yusuke in today's class due to prior commitments, but Yusuke never missed a class.
Snapping out of his musing, Yusuke looked at the clock hanging by the doors to the dojo.
7pm… Hopefully I won't think too much about my hunger if I get home and sleep right away.
Yusuke, after calculating the cost of lessons earlier in the month, found that he could not afford dinner if he took these classes. Yet, he believed the lessons to be more important than missing a meal that he could substitute by eating a bigger lunch in the cafeteria the next day. Luckily, the school's scholarship covered his lunch meals.
"Kitagawa-kun. Are you free to get some dinner by any chance? I would like to buy you a meal." Einser-sensei's voice surprised Yusuke as he was putting on his shoes to go back to the subway station.
"I did not have any plans, sensei." Yusuke was very grateful at the teacher's offer of buying him dinner. Although he could eat at the cafeteria, he did miss dinner the previous two days as well. "I graciously accept your offer."
Eisner-sensei nodded and turned to grab his shoes to leave as well.
"Do you know of the diner in Shibuya?"
.
Yusuke was thankful for the delicious, albeit quiet meal.
"This was delicious, sensei. Thank you for the meal."
Eisner-sensei gave a small smile, one that made him look more tired. "I would have invited Kurusu-kun as well to have a meal with us, but I was not notified of his prior commitments until later this afternoon. However, I heard your stomach rumbling throughout the whole practice, so I thought it would be best to invite you to dinner tonight Kitagawa-kun."
Yusuke coughed into his hand, slightly embarrassed.
"I apologize for showing such an embarrassing side of me."
Byleth nodded his head, signaling that it was not a problem.
"Let's get a meal together again. I enjoy eating with company."
Yusuke remembered the spacious dining hall in Garreg Mach—one that he saw Eisner-sensei dining frequently with his students.
"That sounds wonderful! I would be grateful."
Now, if only Eisner-sensei would look less haunted with these mealtimes, Yusuke would be most grateful.
"I've been thinking…" Makoto started. "About Eisner-sensei's treasure."
"Huh? What do you mean, Mako-chan?" Haru asked.
The group were finally together after a week and a half of last being at Eisner-sensei's Palace. They were at the hideout, relaxing into their respective drinks in front of them, courtesy of Boss.
"We have not been focusing on stealing Eisner-sensei's treasure. I have told Akira-kun this, but Eisner-sensei has been stuck in a grief cycle. I'm sure that following Eisner-sensei's cycle would lead us to the treasure, but we have not been searching for his treasure room."
"And there is the part about the battlefield…" Morgana muttered.
Makoto nodded.
They have yet to see the actual battlefield that makes up the Eisner-sensei's palace.
"Futaba!" Sojiro's voice rang out from the floor below, cutting off the group's deep thoughts for a moment. "Your hot cocoa is ready. Some warm milk for the cat too. Watch the front while I go to the grocery store for a bit.
"Oooh!" Futaba squealed. "Lemme go drink that first."
"I'm coming too!" Morgana yelled and followed Futaba down the stairs.
Haru and Makoto chuckled at Futaba's excitement while they reached for their own cups of coffee that the Boss had given to them earlier.
"So what do you think his treasure can be? Eisner-sensei doesn't seem to be very materialistic." Ann questioned the group, but it was mostly her asking herself.
"Dunno." Ryuji stretched and yawned, his back sore from hunching down as he searched up stronger bats he could use to bring to Palaces on his phone. "I hope whatever it is, we can go have some nice sushi again." His hand still gripped onto his open phone.
"Ryuji!" Ann yelled franticly. "Watch your fingers!"
"Wha—"
"You idio—"
The world distorted in front of the Phantom Thieves' eyes.
Akira knew exactly what was happening as he felt the hazy distortion changing the hideout to a forest.
A forest?
"What the hell Ryuji!" Akira heard as Ann smacked Ryuji's head. "We weren't even ready! This is the second time!"
"Oww! The hell?!" Ryuji yelped and replied in an offended tone, "What do you mean by second time?"
"Remember Futaba's Palace? You're an idiot."
Ryuji gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his head. "Ahh… well…" he looked around the area that they were in. "Where are we, even?"
Instead of the usual monastery gate that they usually warped to, the group was surrounded by a dense forest that Akira didn't recognize.
"Ugh! This is your fault Ryuji!" Ann cried out. "You did exactly the same when we went to Futaba's Palace."
"Ann, Ryuji, stop your argument for a moment…." Yusuke looked around in slight worry, stopping the fight between the two blondes. "Where is Futaba and Morgana?"
"Ouch!" Futaba yelled as she found her body plop to the ground as the chair she was sitting in just disappeared. "Ahh! My hot chocolate!" Futaba looked at her empty hand.
"What the heck? Are we in Mementos? Or… Eisner's Palace?" Morgana looked around and saw the familiar architecture in ruins. "What just happened and where is everyone?" The monastery was once again empty, but in place of the majestic towers and walls, there were rubbles and vines in its place.
Futaba summoned her Persona.
"I can't sense the others nearby, nor any shadows like last time." She typed on her holographic keyboard. "Sothis normally doesn't show up on my Nav, but she should be nearby. Let me try to contact Akira first."
~Akira!~
Akira looked around, hearing Futaba's voice.
"Futaba?"
~Ooh okay you can hear me! Good! I wasn't sure it would work because I'm not exactly sure how far you are from us. What happened? Where are you?~ Akira heard Futaba's voice coming from his phone.
"Ryuji accidently pressed the Nav. And we're in some forest. Where are you?"
~Inside the Monastery. There's no one else here and I don't see Sothis right now.~
Akira could hear Futaba's anxious tone.
"Just stay there. We might not be too far but I haven't checked in the Nav yet." He opened the Metaverse Nav app. After zooming out of his current location, he saw that he and his friends were surrounded by a large forest, and somewhere northwest of the Monastery.
~Can you send me your location?~
"Yeah I'll do that." And with a few small taps, Akira was able to send his location to Futaba.
~Okay you're not terribly far. But it's still about 100 kilometers. You won't be able to walk to here, especially without Morgana.~
Listening to the conversation, Yusuke piped up.
"Should we exit the Palace for now and try to regroup?"
"Wait." Makoto interjected. "There must be a reason why we've been warped to someplace so far away. Futaba and Morgana were not far away from us."
Akira nodded, also confused as to why they were sent so far away from Futaba and Morgana.
"Ugh! Who goes there!"
Akira and the others heard a distant voice, followed by a distinct sound of a cry. He almost forgot that he was on call and said a quick goodbye to Futaba before motioning to his friends to follow him to the noise.
"You bastard! You killed our friend!" A gruff voice rang out clearly as the Phantom Thieves, or at least a part of them, hid in the shadows of two large oak trees.
"How dare you try to attack while my back was turned. Go now, or else I will not spare your lives." A charismatic deep voice reached the Thieves' ears.
Akira's breath hitched, seeing a familiar face. It was the blonde man from a previous dream. His face, however, was missing the eyepatch. He was ready for any oncoming assault with his lance ready, but Akira saw that there was blood on the thick coat the man was wearing.
"You think we're just going to let you live after you killed our friend? We outnumber you!"
Akira could not distinguish who was talking out of the 10 or so men that were standing with their own blades up against the blonde.
"Heed my warning, bandits." The blonde grit his teeth.
However, the bandits ignored the warning and charged at the blonde man.
"What should we do?" Ann whispered quietly.
Akira frowned, unsure if he was making the right decision, but said, "Let's go."
"Are you sure about that?" Makoto questioned, raising her brow. "This is a battle between shadows. Who knows what's going to happen if we interfere."
Akira nodded. "I know… but I need to ask that blonde man some questions."
Makoto sighed. "Okay, leader."
Akira reached out his hand to his face.
"Persona!"
"Thank you, again, for coming to my rescue." The blonde man didn't bow in thanks but rather gave a strong handshake to Akira. "Although I may have been able to beat them, I would have lost a lot of blood and unable to live afterward if it were not for your group."
Akira didn't doubt that, especially after seeing the blonde's tremendous power even with his injuries. Haru took out a handkerchief to put pressure on his wound. However, Akira didn't exactly know if treating a shadow's injury was necessary.
"May I have your names?"
"Hahaha!" Ryuji chuckled and pointed at himself. "We're the Phantom Thieves! Can't give our names away so easily."
"Thieves?!" The blonde's body tensed and balled his fists. "Are you all bandits like those men?" Akira didn't doubt that the man would have swung his lance if it were in his hands.
"What! N-no!" Ryuji was taken aback by the very obvious threat in front of him. "Shit. Shadows aren't usually like this."
Makoto inwardly groaned as her body tensed too, prepared to call Johanna if needed to attack the blonde shadow. "This Palace is very strange indeed. All the shadows we have encountered do not seem to share much of Eisner-sensei's cognition." She gripped her brass knuckles.
The blonde's tense form slightly relaxed into a confused one instead.
"Eisner-sensei… as in Professor Byleth?"
All of the teens' eyes widened, confirming his suspicions.
The blonde's brows furrowed once again. "Are all of you a part of the Adrestian Empire?"
"No… we are not." Yusuke hoped that that was the answer that would pacify the blonde.
It seemed to work, as the blonde looked thoughtfully at the group instead of facing them with wary and tense eyes.
"Yes well… the Professor was said to have passed five years ago." He muttered. "You must have been his students when he was a mercenary. But you said you were thieves? And something about shadows?"
Akira ignored his last question and focused on the blonde's first comment.
"Wait. What do you mean he passed? And five years ago?" Ann's question mirrored exactly what Akira wanted to ask.
Wouldn't shadows know that they were shadows inside Eisner-sensei's mind?! Why does he say that Eisner-sensei passed away? And five years ago? Akira was very confused at this familiar blonde that did not share similarities to the shadows he has seen in previous Palaces. His mind kept asking more and more questions.
"Oh? Have you not heard of the Battle of Garreg Mach? His body has yet to be found, but it is possible that it was buried within the ruins…"
The blonde faced the group with a determined look instead of one of distrust.
"Although the Professor was fighting for the opposing side, I know that his skills were unparalleled and a kind man… If only I had convinced him to teach my house, there may be a chance that he would have lived and fought against Edelgard instead."
Makoto frowned. "I have so many questions that my mind and cannot even process all of them, but you said you were once a student at Garreg Mach? I do feel like I recognize you from someplace…" she trailed off.
"I'm sorry my lady, but I cannot say that I recognize you, yet with your mask it is hard to say for sure. I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, the King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus." Dimitri looked down. "I am ashamed to say that I managed to sneak out without an entourage of knights with me only to be attacked by bandits."
At the group's silence, Dimitri continued.
"Now, do you care to elaborate on your thievery?"
Futaba yelped as she found an axe aimed at her throat.
"Futaba? Is that you?"
Luckily, the assailant did not automatically attack her, as it turned out to be Edelgard who has aged a few years since the past week. She was also wearing an imposing red armor and headpiece that made Futaba feel both awed and scared.
After a bit of questioning, and begrudgingly accepting that Futaba was stuck in some sort of time limbo instead of betraying her as she was still in her Garreg Mach uniform and still looking the same, Edelgard motioned for Futaba to follow her.
To where?
Futaba had no idea.
.
"To be honest, I have to apologize to you. I dragged you into a war that you had no choice but to choose a side. You just joined our house only a month before the war." Edelgard spoke softly as they climbed the stairs to one of the towers in the Monastery.
"Umm…" Futaba wasn't sure how to exactly respond. She gripped Morgana tightly within her arms to give her a bit of courage. "I don't know what happened in the past five years, so I hope you can fill me in."
Edelgard looked behind to Futaba and nodded.
.
"Five years ago to the day… If things had continued on as they were, today would have been the millennium festival…" Edelgard looked longingly at the ruined room in the monastery.
Although Futaba couldn't see Edelgard's face as her back was turned, she could hear the bitterness in her tone.
"But during the war at Garreg Mach, he disappeared. Without him… I…"
Edelgard stopped.
"Halt! Who's there!" Edelgard quickly shielded Futaba behind her back, making Futaba unable to see who the intruder was.
Edelgard froze, releasing a breathless whisper.
"It can't be… Professor?!"
And she dropped her axe and stepped forward as if she could not make sense of the person in front of her. She revealed the intruder—Professor Byleth—in the middle of the room. Her small steps sped up to a sprint as she ran to hug the Professor who returned Edelgard's sorrowful, passionate hug.
Futaba blinked.
Are these two… lovers? No... Were these two lovers?
Futaba didn't like the implications when she had to think in past tense.
"So, I think we need to stay with them here," Akira spoke silently on his phone.
~WHAT THE HELL!~
Unfortunately, the speaker on the other side of the phone didn't do the same.
After being interrogated by Dimitri and him being sufficiently placated, the group was once again interrogated by a huge, tan, white haired man who introduced himself as Dedue after the interrogation was over.
"They're heading southeast. There's something about this man I have to figure out."
Futaba huffed but replied,
~Some strange things happened here. Sothis isn't speaking much. Five years passed in the one week we were gone.~
"Yeah, I heard that," Akira remembered the confusion he and his friends had when they heard that he was dead.
~Well the Professor is still alive, but…~
She paused.
~I'll have to look more into it first.~
Akira was puzzled at Futaba's comment, but nonetheless replied with an 'okay.'
The Palace suddenly became hazy and their view once again became distorted, but before they knew where they were, Ryuji adamantly denied pressing the Nav this time.
"So, are these people your friends, Dimitri?" A laid back yet charismatic drawl came out from behind them.
They turned around to the voice. They had no idea where they were once again though.
"Some new companions I made during my trip here, Claude. Interestingly, they are former students of the late Professor Byleth."
So the two knew each other from the Academy... Akira thought
"I see…" The smirk from the handsome, tanned man turned into a frown. "Come, let's go for a talk old friend."
As the Phantom Thieves saw the retreating backs of the two, they nodded amongst themselves wordlessly, knowing that they needed to hear this conversation.
.
"Dimitri… there are some things that I have not been able to say through letters I have sent to you. You have come earlier than expected. Judith gave up her life trying to defending the Great Bridge of Myrddin. As well as Leonie and Ignatzl." He said with sorrow.
Akira recognized the name of the Bridge, but couldn't remember exactly what it was. He saw Dimitri's mouth curling into a frown.
"Does that mean that the bridge was taken?" Dimitri asked.
Claude sighed. "Yes… I sent Judith, Leonie, and Ignatz, along with their armies to defend the bridge." He gave a bitter laugh. "Imagine my shock when none of them came back alive and the few survivors escaped claimed that Professor was back."
"That Professor… by that… do you mean Professor Byleth?!" Dimitri took a sharp breath at Claude's nod.
"I have no doubts that they will be attacking Derdriu next, but I plan to take the initiative and take the battle to them first."
"You plan to stop the neutrality ploy?" Dimitri asked with heavy shock tinting his words. "With what troops?"
"I plan to bring the Almyran Army. I can't risk Edelgard winning the battle… and allowing the carnage that would inevitably happen if she wins."
"Lady Rhea would surely like to know that the Professor is alive. Although… I doubt that she would be pleased."
"If you're smart, you'll know why I was able to gather the Almyran forces. Wouldn't it be better to let me go and have me in your debt?" Claude's face was devoid of his normal nonchalant look due to the injuries he sustained from the fight. He was still trying to give a small smile.
Byleth had to make a decision. He closed his eyes in concentration.
(Spare Claude)
(Kill Claude)
Opening his eyes slowly, Byleth made his decision.
"I will spare Claude."
Edelgard gripped her axe. "No, Professor. He cannot live..." She effortlessly swung her axe, hitting her mark.
Byleth looked in horror at Claude's body falling from his wyvern.
.
Byleth awoke and opened his eyes in shock. His body was rigid on top of his uncomfortable wooden chair. The pen strokes on the notebook in front of him had deviated from their normal pristine handwriting and turned into wavy scribbles.
Byleth shuddered at his dream, remembering the death of another precious student. The small analog clock on his desk showed that it was 1:23 AM—only five or so minutes passed since he had last seen the clock as he dozed off in his chair.
The windows of his studio apartment shook as heavy rain poured down.
Byleth stood up and grabbed his rain jacket and boots. After a bit of contemplation, he grabbed the bag that had come in the mail the other day.
Haru
Haru could only gasp at the small greenhouse that greeted her on the school rooftop that morning.
She was scared that the harsh rain from the previous night would have ruined her flowers, but now they were just nowhere to be seen. She looked around, slightly anxious and unsure what to do in front of the newly popped up greenhouse.
"Ah, Okumura-kun." Eisner-sensei peeked his head out from the entrance to the greenhouse.
He looked like he hasn't slept that night.
Or several nights.
"I apologize for moving your plants without permission, but I assure you that they are all safely inside. Have a look."
The inside of the small greenhouse was even more impressive, as it was expertly decorated with many different types of plants and small saplings. Her veggies and flowers had a small area dedicated for them too!
With awe, Haru asked, "Did you do this all by yourself, sensei?" The rooftop it was definitely not like this yesterday morning, nor the afternoon.
Eisner-sensei nodded, whilst cutting small branches off of a bonsai. "Yes… I happened to come in early this morning." His gardening skills were much more advanced than Haru, but she ignored that in favor of a more serious question.
"How early, sensei?"
Morgana
"Do you know what Claude did, Professor?! He joined hands with Dimitri and Rhea! He used this battle to get the Kingdom's army to attack us on the northwestern border!"
Morgana leaped silently across the ceiling beams of the Adrestian Emperor's private chambers. The anger radiating off of Eisner, as well as the Emperor slightly scared him.
Looking up, Morgana saw Sothis biting her bottom lip anxiously.
When Morgana and Futaba returned to the Monastery by themselves in order to keep up the appearance of being a part of the Empire's army, it seemed that time skipped around randomly. Although they came every day for the past three days, over a month has already passed. It seems that Futaba's disappearance isn't noticed though. Most likely because there are more important matters happening... including a battle they just missed.
But Morgana could kind of guess what happened by the argument these two were having.
"He could have been a prisoner-of-war! You could have let the citizens in the city surrender! You never killed innocents before. What changed Edelgard?!" Byleth yelled back.
"I changed! Of course I changed, Professor! You left me for five years, and you expect me to have gone on without changing? I spent five years trying to defeat and defend against the Alliance, Kingdom and Church alone. You do not know the struggles I went through in order to defend against enemies attacking at both sides of the border in the past five years you were gone!"
Edelgard's eyes started to water and she gripped her hands together.
"Do you know how guilty I felt? How broken my heart was? I searched high and low after you vanished. I hoped you were alive, but it was just hope. I thought you were dead. However, all this time, I led everyone as best I could and fought with all my heart. It's been a difficult path to walk alone."
"I-" Byleth couldn't get any more words out.
"Do you even still feel the way you did all those years ago?" Edelgard's voice was blistering. "You said then that you would fight at my side no matter how many enemies we should amass. For me, my resolve has not faltered. I'm determined as ever to see this through to the end."
There was only silence as Edelgard stormed out.
A lover's quarrel? Thought Morgana.
Sothis, still barely saying a word, looked down solemnly.
Haru
"Sensei? Are you o—" Haru cut off her question as lurched a bit forward to support Eisner-sensei's falling body.
There was no one else around to help her with the professor weighing down on her shoulder heavily as the school already ended for the day and they were back on the rooftop greenhouse.
She was just glad that she caught him before he would have inevitably hit the ground headfirst. Her thoughts wandered to the worst-case scenario—something could've happened in the teacher's cognition. She knew that Futaba and Morgana have gone into the teacher's Palace for the past few days.
Fortunately, it didn't seem that Eisner-sensei was having a mental shutdown. He was breathing and she could feel the teacher's bounding pulse.
Maybe the pulse wasn't so great.
And he felt really warm. And maybe his breathing was a bit too fast.
Unfortunately, there were no chairs or desks to put the professor down. Haru was not sure that her physical capabilities could safely bring the Professor to the ground without hitting his head against the beams of the greenhouse or the ground.
If he were to fall… well… Haru's help would be for naught.
She was also unsure that she could hold the Professor's unconscious body up for long.
Haru sighed in relief as felt her phone in her jacket pocket and took it out to search for a number in her contacts.
After two rings, the contact picked up the phone.
"Akira-kun! Are you still at school?" Haru sighed in relief. "Oh okay good. Are you busy right now? Can you come to the rooftop quickly?" She said with a bit of desperation in her voice. "Okay, thanks bye!"
She felt bad hanging up so quickly, but she had to make another call.
Makoto
Makoto frowned as she helped Haru get the unconscious teacher onto Akira's back in the rooftop greenhouse that suddenly appeared. Makoto didn't hear about this from anyone before.
She was studying in the library before with Akira when she heard his phone going off.
She had to give a small glare, as it was distracting and slightly rude to keep a phone on in the library. And she wasn't the only one to feel this way as other students sent glares their way too.
Akira gave a sheepish grin but took the call.
"Hi…. yeah… no… ye—" He cut off his response as he brought his phone away from his face and looked at it strangely.
Makoto rose one eyebrow.
"Haru needs some help." Akira shoved his book in his bag. "I think it's urgent as she doesn't normally cut off calls so quickly."
Oh, Makoto thought.
"Would you like me to come with you?"
"Hmm… I think she would appreciate that."
.
Makoto was glad she came to the rooftop.
She sighed as she made sure Akira didn't bang Eisner-sensei's head as they were getting into the back of Haru's sleek black car.
Author's note
Thank you for reading, everyone! All your favorites, follows, and reviews really motivate me to write more!
Edelgard and Byleth's relationship is interesting to write. I took the liberty of making them be A ranked before the time skip and their argument is mostly along the lines of what Edelgard said when she says after Byleth again in chapter 13 of Crimson Flower.
I was thinking along the lines of... if Edelgard loved Byleth and he was gone, and she didn't exactly believe he would be alive (because her whole life has been filled with her loved ones dying), she may have been ruthless, such as how she did was the Blue Lions route.