The grass was cold and wet, but it did nothing to cushion his fall. A groan escaped him as his head saw the clouded sky.

"You're much better with bows than axes, Ashe." The voice was vibrant, brave, and there was such confidence in his tone. There was a hand raised to the face of the down boy. It was gloved, fully plated, but it still looked so warm and inviting despite the strength of his grip. "I still think a sword would be a better place to start your close combat training. Perhaps even unarmed combat will suit you well."

Ashe tried to wipe himself off, but he couldn't stop a smile coming to his face. "The last time we did that, Chris, I didn't even last ten seconds in the ring!" He recalled how much his bottom hurt that day. "I did better this time!"

There was a soft scoff from the man. "You did better, only because of all those intimate affairs with the floor and your butt." Ashe rolled his eyes. He hated how his adopted brother had a tongue as sharp as his lance. "I still feel axes aren't suited to your strength, but if you're insistent on it, I do know some exercises that can help."

The former thief was excited to hear that. He was happy to be with his new brother, jokes about adulterous behinds notwithstanding.

"Lord Christophe!" A soldier ran towards the two that interrupted their training. "An urgent report!" The soldier held a letter that the older brother quickly opened it up.

Ashe watched as his brother's easygoing face turned into a hardened and angry glare.

"What!? Who changed the King's Security Details?! If a random bandit party beset the king and his royal guard in his travel to Duscur, they would outnumber them 3 to 1 with these numbers!"

"I-I was just told to give it to you, sir." The soldier took a step back.

Seeing the fear in the messenger's actions, Christophe sighed. "Forgive me. It's not your fault, Theo." He folded the letter. "But get my horse ready. I need to meet with Glenn."

The messenger saluted before running off.

"Chris?" Ashe didn't know what was going on, but he felt his adopted brother's emotions. It wasn't as pleasant as it was.

"I apologize, Ashe. It seems I have to cut this training short."

"W-What's going on? Why do you have to leave?"

The older brother relaxed and exhaled as he did so. "A secret mission by the king himself. I can't tell father, but you can keep this between us, right?"

"A secret mission!? By the king himself!?" Ashe almost always found himself in awe of his adopted brother. A renowned knight and kind man? Christophe even resembled a living breathing knight from one of the stories he's read. There were many times where Ashe didn't know what he did to deserve Lord Lonato and Christophe, but he knew it wasn't enough.

"Shhh!" The older brother lifted a finger to his mouth. He then smiled, winked, and rubbed his hand to mess with Ashe's hair. "I'll be gone for a bit. Take care of everyone while I'm gone, okay?"

Ashe could do nothing but nod. "I will! And when you come back, you can teach me how to use an ax more!"

Christophe gave a smile that looked more like relief. "I'm looking forward to it, Sir Adulterous Butt."

"Chris!?" Ashe screamed at his older brother who laughed as he left. Feeling bitter about that comment, Ashe wished for something to shame his brother over that he could get him to stop joking about his behind.

Ashe regretted ever making that wish. More than likely, he will regret it for the rest of his life.

Ashe woke up. The first thing he saw wasn't the cloudy skies of his homeland, but the ceiling of the Officer's Academy. However, it was a bit damp like the grass of his home. It was because he found tears near his eyes.

After cleaning himself up a bit, Ashe thought back to his dream. He hasn't thought of Christophe in nearly four years, why did that dream come to him? The former thief knew Christophe for only three years, but it was hard for him not to cherish how much of an impact he had on everyone's lives. Ashe could only imagine the depths of Lord Lonato's sorrow when they heard it.

He shook his head. Perhaps it was a reminder from his dead brother to write to their father. It has been a while.

"I can't believe they canceled the mock battle at the end of Great Tree Moon!"

If one were to look to Lorenz, they would spot a vein appear on his forehead. Sir Gloucester then turned his head towards the head of the Golden Deers. "May I remind you, Claude, as punishment for the loss of the mess hall, the church canceled the prebattle?! If that wasn't enough, we suffered nothing but nightmarish meals this past week due to the destroyed kitchen!"

"Whaaat? The food isn't that bad." Claude had to give the cooks credit. They had at least something to feed everyone while waiting for a new shipment of cooking utensils.

"No, Claude, it is!" Lady Ordelia slammed her book closed and glared at her house leader to the point where vipers would be impressed. "We've had nothing but gruel these past two weeks! Gruel! That explosion got to the food, and we've only been on limited rations!"

"Please," The Golden Deers looked over to poor Raphael. He was looking at his arms as if they were growing a second head. "I need food!" He turned to them while he showed his arms. "I can't even have a second serving of gruel! My muscles are shrinking because of the lack of protein!"

He showed off his muscles. "Look, aren't they smaller than before!?"

Not a single person could tell the difference.

"No! I can't let my muscles shrink! I need protein!" Raphael suddenly froze and turned behind him. "Wait. Maybe there is protein. I just haven't been looking hard enough." Everyone followed his view towards the window where outside a cat was licking itself clean.

No one liked how Raphael was staring at the cat.

"This is all your fault, Claude!" Lysithea pointed at her house leader. The white-haired mage was irritable, and maybe it had something to do with the fact that she hasn't had something sweet like cake during the forced fasting.

"My fault?! If anything, you guys should blame him!" Claude pointed over to the wolf, who raised his head from sleeping until that moment. "He's the one who ruined everything!"

Everyone turned back to Remus, who was happily panting at them before looking back at Claude.

"Wasn't your poison what caused him to go crazy in the first place?" Hilda pointed out.

Claude sighed then leaned into his seat. "Mutiny. I knew this would happen. I am truly alone in the world." The Golden Deer head felt something damp near his right hand and saw Remus came up and was licking it. When he moved his hand up, Remus looked up to him and smiled at him. "Wow, you are good at that! Mind using that ability to calm down everyone else?" Claude found it hard to stay mad at the creature, even if he messed up his brilliant plan.

"Time's up. Your break is over." Byleth came in and removed the hourglass on her podium. "Now let's continue with the lesson."

"They escaped?" Seteth repeated in disbelief when he heard the report. "How could a random bandit group escape our battalion?"

"I'm sorry, sir. The message said there was a thick fog that suddenly came over them, and by the time it cleared, there were no signs of them anymore. Our trackers are en route to find where they went."

The green-haired man nodded. "Thank you, Liak. You may leave." The messenger left the room after a polite bow.

Seteth couldn't help but see something off about that report. First, a bandit group was able to sneak into Central Church territory without any of their scouts alarming them. Second, they attacked the students at the same time they also happened to be away from the Monastery before the start of the school year? And now, that very same bandit group escaped by fog in the middle of the night? These questions seemed to be too perfect to be a coincidence. Was this the work of an unseen hand? And why?

There's also the question of not just outward threats, but inward as well. Why was Rhea so insistent on making Jeralt's child a teacher here? He trusted her, but this was the first time in a long time that Rhea kept a secret from him. He was second in command to the archbishop in all but name, so he thought she trusted him enough to share all her secrets, but this was not the case. He still believed in Rhea, but all of this felt akin to someone stacking dominoes: all this set up for one little push that will destroy them all.

Seteth sighed into his hands. Perhaps he should reconsider sending Flayn back to hiding.

Okay, what is that smell? I felt it before from Rhea and Seteth, but this one feels similar but different. I believe it's worth checking out in the long run in case I do find a proper answer for all these questions I have, so I tailed the scent all the way here to the fishing area.

Of course, while I am serious. I don't think people are taking me seriously. I'm focusing hard on the scent, and because of that, I'm sniffing the ground like a bloodhound. I feel like those dogs in media that move while keeping their nose barely an inch above the ground.

Unfortunately for me, the scent fades as I get closer to the water. That's going to be a thing I need to take a note of later: the fact water can erase scents from me for a while. What's worse is my nose smells fish, a lot of them.

But I am a stubborn bloke. I keep my head down as I try to pick up the faintest smell of that timeless scent. Because my line of sight is limited to looking at the ground, I get spoked when a dead and bloody fish head gets into my line of sight.

I yelped and jumped back, but why did my whine sound like a girl's scream? My mind looked past the pile of dead fish where a girl jumped and screamed at the same time I did. She was, to the surprise of no one, gorgeous. She had green hair similar to that of Seteth and Rhea, where they all family or something? I'd wager she's the third strange scent here.

"Oh!" She spoke before her body language told me she was relaxing. "You surprised me. You're much bigger than the dogs here, are you perhaps the wolf pet of the new professor I've heard so much about?"

I nod my head in response.

Her response to my response was to widen her eyes. "Did you understand my question?"

I nod again before a howl escapes me.

"That is," She pauses a second as I spot her eyes narrowing. "Amazing!" Then her eyes light up, and she's smiling like a loon. "I've never seen or heard of an animal understanding human speech before! How did you do that?"

Well, my lady, it involves cosmic fuckery and drawing the short straw in all the cosmos. I swear; why does this happen to me but not getting the winning lottery ticket? I am sure my chances of winning the ticket was infinitely higher than this!

"Oh! I neglected the fact I cannot understand you despite you understanding me." The girl frowned, looking apologetic at her realization. "Wait! If you understand speech, that means you can also express it! If not through words then perhaps," She trailed off before her voice rose. "Do not eat the fish! That's for the cooks later today! I offered to help gather fish after they had fixed one of the stoves!"

I blinked as I realized I was about to eat the fish I smelled a while ago. Stupid dog instincts, eating whatever is in my line of sight. The girl shooed me away from the fish before placing her fishing rod down and crossing her arms.

"I and many are tired of gruel. Any reprieve, even temporary, would be a relief." Ah right. I take back that previous insult. Maybe it's a good thing I can eat almost anything. Everyone has been sluggish due to a combination of lack of food and Byleth's strict teaching method. Now that I'm thinking of it, perhaps I should avoid Rapahel for a bit. He's been eyeballing me as a predator to prey. I believe I heard him whisper about cooked wolf meat once in my vicinity. Having heightened hearing does not always help as one would expect.

"I know!" The girl points a finger up. "I'll send the fish to the Mess Hall then we can go to the library to find out if there's a way to express yourself!"

I admit that does sound beneficial. There's also the benefit of staying with this girl; she may reveal something to me that might explain why I'm here. Unlikely, but this time I feel like there's progress in some direction.

When we entered the second-floor library, an old monk greeted the girl kindly. "Ah! Flayn, it's good to see you." Flayn? That's her name? The monk looked down at me. "And this must be the infamous wolf, Remus."

Flayn also eyed me when she heard the name. "You're name is Remus? A lovely name!" She turned back to the old monk. "Sir Thomas, it is also good to see you again. I'm here to borrow some books."

"Well, don't let little old me stop you. The library is open to everyone." The man gave a smile and motioned a hand towards the area. Flayn nodded before she and I started to pass by—AH!

What!? What was that!? It was a second, but I felt a chill that reached to the core of my bones. I looked around, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary. What was that? It didn't feel like a temperature change.

"Is something wrong?" Flayn's voice made me look back to her.

I stopped and calmed down. I shook my head then followed after Flayn.

"Remus, you seem smarter than the average wolf!" Flayn pumped her self up as she said this. "And as I said before if you can understand us then that means you can express yourself as well! Is it possible for you to write our language?" She took a scroll of symbols that I had no idea how to read. "See if you can point out symbols to form words!"

I shook my head.

"No?" Flayn tilted her head. "Can you not read?"

I nodded.

Falyn looked as confused as I did when I learned that annoying fact. "How curious. You can understand us, yet you can't read? You grow more curious by the second! How exciting!" Flayn had to lower her voice after realizing she screamed. "Erhm! It is still possible to learn our script. I can only imagine what kind of secrets you're just waiting to unleash!"

"I crave the blood of dead squirrels." That is the first thing I plan to express. It's not pretty, but since I have to deal with that new craving, I'm making sure all of you deal with it too. The next thing would be a demand for cake. Damnit this body carves sweets to a torturous degree!

Flayn began reaching for a book that looked like a colorful kid's book. As she did, my eyes trailed to the right. The memory from before came to me like that of an executioner's ax.

"Let's start with our alphabet." Flayn turned to what she was expecting to be the wolf. Instead, all she saw was empty air where Remus was previously. She looked for the silver wolf, only to find him trying to climb a bookcase.

"Is something the matter?" Flayn raised her brow when Remus turned to her and barked before trying to climb up the case for a book. The girl reached for a book the wolf seemed to want. "This?" She took the book out. Remus stopped trying to climb the bookcase and nodded his head at her. Flayn was curious and opened up the book to read it's contents. As she skimmed it, she only raised her brow. "This is just a catalog on the church funds?"

Flayn watched as Remus dipped his head down after hearing that. "I find it strange that you would want this book in particular. Is there something about it that strikes you?" The green-haired girl watched as Remus freeze after hearing her question. Then the wolf shook his head. "Are you sure?" Remus nodded. Something told her that there was more to this than he was letting on, but how could she get the info she needed from something that can't express himself?

"Well alright, let's begin with our alphabet!"

I focus on the task at hand, learning about a new alphabet thanks to the help of Flayn. But in the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong. That book I had Flayn get, it was the same one Dimitri was reading, I was sure of it! I made a mental note to memorize those symbols when I saw it before the first day. Why was he looking at the church funds catalog? What purpose did it serve him? I can't solve these questions in my current state.

I need to take my time.

As time passes, something comes to mind. Flayn doesn't seem to be in any hurry to leave me. She's passionate about making sure I learn how to read, but she's pouring a lot of time and effort into me. It's like she doesn't have anywhere else to be.

Huh, even though she's different personality-wise, she's not all that different from another green-haired young lady I know that's lonelier than she looks. Only, I don't see Flayn surrounded by others that want to flock to her.

... Man is it me or is everyone important-looking just super lonely? Now that I think about it, Rhea also seemed to view me with more emotion than most people.

Huh, okay. As another human, everyone would keep their guard up. But as a wolf? As a wolf that acts like a happy, dumb dog? I've seen everyone lower their guard around animals, and I think it's time I used that advantage.

Alright! Operation: get Flayn a friend is a go! Who could be a good friend for a lonely girl?

... How about another lonely girl that looks sleep-deprived?

Marianne looks like such a sweet girl. During the Golden Deer classes, I always find her glancing over at me and giving me a small smile in return. But the rest of the time she looks so miserable! How fortuitous it is that I spot her right across from where Flayn and I are!

After mentally keeping the symbols for 'apple' in this world, I sped off. Flayn shouted for my name, but thanks to my new speed, I was already a few feet away from Marianne.

"Oh! Mr. Remus?" Aww, she calls me Mister.

"Remus!" Flayn ran after me before stopping in front of Marianne as I did. "I apologize if I'm interrupting you."

"No please, I'm sorry if I bothered you!" Girls, you're both precious. But keep talking; I want to see how well I can get people to interact with each other since I can't speak anymore.

Flayn laughed before continuing, "It seems Remus knows you. May I ask how?"

"I'm a student of his owner. He always greets everyone with a smile, and he's very playful." The blue-haired girl shook her head. "As I said, I am sorry for disturbing you. I'll be going now."

No! No! Don't leave yet! I think you two would make great friends! I ran around her to cut her off before she could excuse herself. Alright, this goes against whatever little manliness I had left even as a human, but I try and make my eyes as big as I can and give the most convincing sad dog look.

"Aww, I think he wants you to stay!" Yes, Flayn! I do!

"But I don't want to bother you." You aren't bothering me at all, sweetie.

"No, not at all!" Flayn smiled. "You see, I was teaching Remus our alphabet!"

"Teaching him," Marianne took a second to process what she heard. "Our alphabet?"

"Yes! He can understand us, but it's not the same in reverse. Therefore, it stands to reason if I teach him this, he'll be able to do some degree of conversation!"

"You don't need to teach him to write and read." Wait-what? "Animals can already express themselves."

"Really?" Flayn's eyes widened as she put a hand over her mouth to cover her gasp.

Marianne turned to me. "Is there something you want to say?"

I blinked before I found myself giving off a few barks.

It was then that the sleep-deprived girl's eyes widened. "You," she paused as if trying to put words coherently together. "crave the blood of dead squirrels? I," She shook her head, "Please don't do that, Mr. Remus."

My jaw dropped. Flayn clasped her hands together and gasped. "You understood him!? Stupendous!"

Many in the library turned to shush the girl after her scream. But both girls had this adorable blush on them after all eyes were on them.

"I-I mean it though!" Flayn did a combination of both screaming and whispering. "How did you understand Mr. Remus?"

"I-um," Marianne looked down, trying to hide her face, but even then I could see how red her ears were. "I need to go! Please forgive me!"

"Wait!" Flayn cried out as the blue-haired girl scurried off. "Another curious case! I must find more about it!" Flayn looked to me and placed the book we were reading down. "Forgive me, Mr. Remus, but this has caught my attention!"

Flayn dropped the alphabet book in front of me before bolting after Marianne. I admit I'm also curious about how she understood me completely. I don't think that was magic. I feel like she was paying close attention to my body movement.

Well, at least Flayn left me the picture book. I can try to learn more about this new alphabet.

"Flayn? Are you here?" My wolf ears caught a familiar voice. I turned around the same time Seteth turned from the corner.

Our eyes locked and I saw Seteth frown hard. "Did you do this?!"

What is he pointing at? Oh. Uh-oh. I forgot that Flayn was so excited that she didn't just pick up one child's book, she picked up like two dozen in hopes I could read them all by the end of the day. But she wasn't very organized, and the books scattered around the table, making it look like a mess.

...A mess that looked like my handy work and not Flayn, who left some time ago.

"Get away from that book! I'm banning you from the Library for sure!"

Okay, that's it, Seteth. I will plot to poop in your bed.

Huh, it never occurred to me that in this anime/school world, there would be physical education past the combat drilling.

Like... say... dodgeball.

A three-way dodgeball game.

Now here's something interesting: they repaired the mess hall, but they haven't let anyone in yet. Rhea, in her wisdom, decided to allow the winning house first serving in the refurbished dining hall.

It sounds like a simple reward, right? See the problem is almost a month prior, the monastery gave nothing but gruel with the rare fish meals.

Everyone was tired of gruel. Everyone wanted actual food. So it's not too farfetched to say the houses were driven to win more than usual.

For example, Manuela got Alois to join the Golden Deer side for this game. I overheard her wanting, and I am underplaying it, first serve for booze. Then again, Alois is always eager to join anything that looks fun. Professor Hanneman, eager to one-up his significant other, also asked for assistance from a knight. He found one in Thunderstrike Catherine, an acclaimed and powerful knight. Even though she wore Black Eagle loungewear, I could see how muscular she was! I bet she could lift Raphael with one hand!

And then there were the Blue Lions. Byleth didn't have the social sense to ask for help, so it was just her and the Blue Lions.

As for me? I was with the Golden Deers. If you're wondering why I'm with them and not with Byleth, the answer comes with one word: Claude.

When the announcement for the game and the prize came, he innocently asked Byleth if he could borrow me. She saw no wrong and allowed me to go with him.

And then he got Ignatz to make a Golden Deer jersey for a wolf.

See, he argued there were no rules against having a wolf as a team member, which there weren't. The more important reason was to lower the morale of Byleth, and by proxy the Blue Lions when they realize their mascot had been stolen.

I can hear the question in your mind, "Why didn't you just go back to Byleth?"

"Hey, Remus!" I loathed the fact my tail was wagging in excitement when I looked up to Claude in his loungewear. "You've been so well behaved! Here's your reward, buddy!" He took out a pack of jerky and threw it to me. My body jumped for it, and then my traitorous brain released that sweet, sweet dopamine as the taste hit my tongue. It appears that night I saw Claude sneaking out, he was sneaking back to the mess hall for food scraps and found a bag of beef jerky. He had to promise the rest to Raphael after the game win or lose. Otherwise, he'd be tackled by the big lug then and there.

"I told you he was a scamp!" Great, I can still hear Sothis from here. The worst part was Byleth looked disappointed in me! I mean, she still has a mostly blank look on her face, but I know she's disappointed in me!

Rhea and Seteth stood atop a hill that overlooked the three-way game. Rubber balls formed a three-way line that divided the area and zones for the three houses. Oh, and there's a special rule since there are so many people: if you catch a throw, the person who threw it is out, but no one comes in. With this rule up, the game won't drag out too long.

"Let the game," Rhea, with the use of magic, projected her voice through the field. "Begin!"

Well, here we go!

Many people watched as a silver blur reached the end of the lines and rolled as many balls into the Golden Deer side. This meant that in the first few seconds, the Golden Deer had captured 2/3d's of the rubber ammo while the Black Eagles and Blue lions had to fight for the remaining 1/3.

"Haha! This is working better than I hoped!" Claude cried out as he got a nearby ball and ran back to a safer distance.

One student from the Blue Lions side threw a ball over to the Golden Deer side. Everyone watched as Remus ran under the ball, jumped, and knocked the ball with his nose. The ball changed trajectory and power, and it flew high into the air before it descended easily.

Hilda brought her hands out and, with little effort, caught the ball. She liked the little effort part.

Needless to say, there were many unhinged jaws at that action. Since Hilda caught his throw, the Blue Lion student became the first casualty of the game. Some Black Eagle students tried to aim for the Golden Deers too, but Remus sped ahead and did the same to one of the throws, while the rest missed their marks.

It didn't take long to figure out Remus was a threat to both Black Eagles and Blue Lions.

"Now this looks interesting!" Catherine got a ball and threw it right for the wolf. The ball moved faster than an arrow, and it would no doubt hit anyone if they weren't paying attention for even half a second. But Remus moved out of the way just in time for the ball to bounce and hit a Golden Deer student. The student's stomach was in pain, but he was still in the game. Catherine smirked at the wolf before she had to back up from a counter-attack from the Golden Deers.

"Yes!" Manuela gripped her fist and people swore they could see a fire in her eyes. "First serving is ours!"

"Claude's scheme has certainly granted him a great boon!" Dimitri sidestepped a ball thrown in his direction. "Professor, what do we do?!"

Byleth dodged a ball coming her way before looking back to Remus running on the Golden Deer side. If she knew Remus would do this, she would have put him in the Blue Lion's side.

However, Byleth felt a small tug on her lips. "Who has a ball?!" She looked around while paying attention to any incoming attack on her.

"I do!" Ingrid held the sphere close to her. "What do you need, professor?"

Byleth scanned the area for an attack. "Can you hit a Golden Deer student from here?"

"Yes, but Remus might intercept my throw!"

"Don't worry about him!" Byleth spoke, "Aim and throw! Claude overlooked one thing when he put Remus in his team."

Ingrid looked to Dimitri who nodded in confirmation. Lady Galatea went ahead and threw a ball into the Golden Deer side.

Hilda saw the throw towards her but then saw Remus move. "Eh, he's totally got this! You're my favorite animal, Remus!" Remus ran for the ball with the intent to intercept it like the ones before.

Just before he could, Byleth shouted, "Remus, there's a squirrel!"

The wolf stopped with a slide and looked in the direction Byleth pointed. The ball flew over him and decked Hilda in the side of the head before hitting the ground.

"Wait-What?" Claude and the rest of the Golden Deers turned to see what had just happened.

"Not to worry, Hilda! I shall avenge you!" Alois cried out bravely as he had a ball and ran towards the edge of the line.

Byleth felt a little guilty, but not really. "It's behind you, Remus!"

Then the wolf bolted through Alois' legs. The Knight of Seiros cried out before he lost his footing. When he did, the ball he held flew up in the air before Annette caught it in her hands.

"Well, well," Hubert eyed the action. "It appears the Blue Lions has just turned Claude's advantage into a disadvantage."

That was the nail in the coffin for the Golden Deers. The Blue Lions and some Black Eagle students attacked the Golden Deers. Byleth manipulated Remus to hamper any attack and defense the Golden Deers tried to reestablish with her constant false squirrel claims.

When Lorenz got hit, he turned to Claude with a glare. "For shame on me for thinking your scheme would work this time!"

"Hey, it was a calculated risk!" Claude felt something furry near his legs and looked to Remus panting and looking up at him. "That's twice you ruined my schemes, mutt. I swear you're just bad luck!" The future leader of the Alliance gave an exasperated sigh.

It was then he realized that he looked away from the battlefield. When he looked back, he felt the sting of rubber hit his stomach.

Byleth couldn't help but narrow her eyes and smirk. The professor was proud of Claude for thinking of a great strategy, but she felt bitter about him stealing her pet.

Dimitri pumped his fist. "Yes! Claude is down, and there are less than a dozen people on the Golden Deer side! We can eliminate them in one more push!"

"Milord, look out!" Dedue stood with his arms raised to shield Dimitri from several rubber balls. However, by doing that, Dedue got eliminated from the game taking those hits.

"Dedue!" Dimitri cried out before a good chunk of his team got pelted by rubber balls. "Fall back!" He cried out for the remainder of his house.

"Our plan worked to perfection, Lady Edelgard." Hubert gave a smile as he saw a large portion of Blue Lion students, including a few core members such as Ashe and Sylvain, left the field. "All we needed to do was wait for the Blue Lions to overextend in finishing off the Golden Deers, then deal them a crippling blow! Now it will be easier for us to deal with both houses and secure the win!"

"Catherine and I will finish up the Golden Deers, Edelgard!" Ferdinand von Aegir quickly moved to finish off the last students of the Golden Deer side.

"I should have expected such a move." Byleth looked to Anette who tossed her a ball. "We're going to need to regroup fast before they," Byleth didn't finish as she dodged a hard throw that didn't just hit one student, but four before hitting the ground without anyone able to catch it.

"You got good reflexes!" Catherine swung her arms as if to warm it up. "I've heard a lot about you, Child of the Blade Breaker!" The Knight of Seiros grabbed a ball before throwing it right for Byleth.

Even though dodgeball was a team game, both sides stepped away from the battle between Thunderstrike Catherine and the Ashen Demon. There were more casualties from the missed throws from the two than the two houses against each other. It was so intense, the two singlehandedly eliminated the other students.

Seeing a stalemate, Byleth tried something and scooped up two rubber balls. She tossed one ball high up in the air. Catherine looked up to the ball, wondering why she would toss an easy catch. Then her instincts kicked in as she barely dodged the second ball thrown at her. The first throw was a feint to hide the second throw! Simple but effective; however, it wouldn't work on her! Catherine acted fast and threw a counterattack at Byleth. The professor didn't move fast enough as the ball tagged the side of her foot, eliminating her from the game.

"Yes!" Catherine gripped her fist in victory before she felt a rubber ball bounce off her head and hit the ground. She realized the first throw was the attack, but the second one was meant to be the distraction and put her in position to be hit by the first throw! "Haha! Well played! We'll call it a draw for now then!"

Byleth and Catherine left the field. However, by the time they did, there were only two students left with one on each side.

Edelgard von Hresvelg and Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd.

The two future leaders stared each other down while their teams shouted words of encouragement to them. The two engaged in a fierce battle where balls flew with the speed of arrows launched by snipers. It wasn't like the destructive fight between Byleth and Catherine, but it was still just as fierce. It came to a point where the two future leaders ran closer to the border, aiming for the two closest rubber balls.

They picked their ammo at the same time and threw it. The result?

Both of them eliminated each other at the same time.

"That is game!" Rhea's voice cried out. Everyone wondered who she would declare the winner from that last battle. "The winner is," She gave a pause for everyone to hang on those long, aching moments. "Golden Deers!"

As one can imagine, disbelief filled everyone's faces. Before anything else happened, Rhea pointed over to the side of the Golden Deers. "I see one member remaining on their side!"

Edelgard and Dimitri looked over, as did everyone else. Remus was there, obliviously scratching his ear while the battle was going on.

"YES!" Claude stood up from the eliminated area. "WE WIN!"

The Golden Deers cheered. They all ran up to Remus and lifted him as if he was the MVP even though he did nothing by the end of the game.

"Free cheers for Remus! For the Golden Deer!" Alois, in his exuberance, threw his fist up and shouted that.

"Remus! Remus! Remus!"

"Fear The Deer! Fear The Deer!"

"I knew I could count on you the whole time, you mangy mutt!"

Claude said that last line. Luckily for him, everyone else was cheering too hard to notice his bullshit.

The Black Eagles and Blue Lions were in disbelief. However, they had to accept the reality that they had just lost because they forgot about the dog.

Byleth sighed into her hand. "He's sleeping outside tonight."

Edelgard wiped the sweat off her head. She invested more in the game that she thought she would.

"El, here's a drink." The Imperial Princess snapped her head towards the direction of the name. The Prince of the Kingdom held two bottles of water and handed on to the white-haired girl.

Edelgard blinked before taking the drink. "That's a name I haven't heard in a while." She looked around, seeing no one in sight or earshot of them.

"I'm glad," Dimitri responded. "I was afraid you forgot."

"Why would I forget such a thing?"

"Forgive me; I meant no ill will," Dimitri still had a small smile on his face. "I understand our circumstances are different now, but I always felt you didn't remember because of how easily you dismissed me at times."

Edelgard thought back to a time where a girl danced with a nervous boy. She failed to fight off a smile in remembrance. However, she sighed before she stood up. "We are in different circumstances now. Thank you, Dimitri, but I will be going now."

The prince couldn't help but frown as he saw Edelgard leave. The imperial princess fought a storm in her mind to not frown as she left Dimitri.

Remus watched the whole thing with interest before leaving to find Byleth.

A/N: WHAT TEAM!?

WILDCATS!

WHAT TEAM!?

WILDCATS!

WILDCATS! GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!

Yes, I too thought of that meme when I saw it. So did the rest of the internet. Thank you, DLC, for helping write this chapter. I had a huge writer's block before I saw the Loungewear.

Not only did I reference High School musical, but I also referenced Air Bud, those old 90's movies where a dog plays sports. At this point, this whole fic is an ingenious plot to steal all dog-related jokes ever made in media. My next goal is to fit a Scooby-doo reference when you least expect it.

Did you notice that I made people interact that don't usually interact? Marianne and Flayn? Dimitri and Edelgard? (It's made a little unclear between the Black Eagles and the Blue Lions route if Edelgard remembers Dimitri. I assumed she did in both times.) Consider them my fan versions of their C-support! I think it would be a fun challenge to write about people together who don't have support conversations with each other. I also took the liberty of giving Christophe, Ashe's dead brother, some personality and backstory. I hope you like where I take it.

Also, this chapter proved what I promised. This story is not going to focus solely on one house. The Golden Deers won the dodgeball game even though Byleth is with the Blue Lions.

But fun time is over. We're soon meeting up with Kostas and his crew. I know you all hate OCs. But this story is just for fun. I promise there's a reason for him and only him existing.