Long time no see.

Have this little idea I came up with.

Enjoy.

War had enveloped Fodlan. In the apparent five years he had been knocked out after his fall during the battle at the Monastery, war had taken over the land he called his home and taken with it the students he held dear to him into it's fiery grasp. The world had not been kind to the students of the Golden Deer class, nor to the Ashen Wolves or the few students of the other classes that joined him before chaos broke loose. And it hadn't been any kinder to the students of the other classes either.

Byleth saw that for himself at Gronder Field. A reunion that should've been celebrated, turned into a bloodbath.

It was here that Byleth saw just how much this war had taken its toll on not just his own students, but the students of the other 2 kingdoms as well. They expressed surprise at seeing him, everyone did. But what little joy they had felt upon seeing him was quickly washed away by a sense of duty...And hatred.

He remembered the way Ingrid looked at him. How she held her spear tight, how she charged him with her pegasus, and how she lay dying on the battlefield. He didn't have time to grieve, of course he didn't; he was in a battle after all. She had been reduced now to another casualty of war, another victim of the Ashen Demon.

The Blue Lions, how quickly they fell. The tattered remnants of the Kingdom of Farghus were no match for the Empire's overwhelming strength and the reinvigorated Alliance. He remembered first seeing Ashe, innocent Ashe. Who always prayed digillenty at the cathedral stared him down with a look of hatred. A look of distaste. Byleth was now the enemy. Their Professor that they had tea with, that they practiced with, that they talked with...None of that mattered now. The Blue Lions had lost their kingdom, and if Byleth were to stand in their way, then they would have to steel themselves and their hearts.

And the Black Eagles...What poison Edelgard had filled the students minds with he did not know, but he knew that they would not hold back. Caspar with his overwhelming strength, Ferdinand blind with ambition and now a slave to the new empress...And Dorothea...Sweet Dorothea...Her beautiful voice haunted him even still...

Five years...Five years was all it took for Fodlan to be torn apart, Five years was all it took to tear apart the friendships he had made. He was grateful that some of the other students from the other kingdoms followed the Golden Deer to the Monastery...But it still did not erase this pit in his stomach. He wish he could've saved him all, wish he could've convinced them to join him. But he knew better, he could tell just from looking at them. They had made up their minds long ago. There was no going back.

As he sat in his old room, he stared at the blood soaked remains of his other half...How he wished for her guidance, her comfort. This sword was all that he had left of her, and he had tainted it with the blood of those he promised to protect. A knock at his door stirred him from his somber thoughts. He looked up, setting the sword by his bedside and stood to his feet, approaching the door to his dorm and opening it. Surprised to see Bernadetta staring up at him, a uncommon look of determination in her soft gaze.

"Professor...Are you alright?" The girl asked. Of course, calling her a girl would do her a disservice. She had grown, all of his students have. Not just in their size and skills, but in their personalities. Standing before him was a girl who had been through war and still maintained some sense of hope. Even if she was still a bit of a shut-in and suffered from low confidence, it was still a large improvement from where she was during their academy days.

Academy days...His students used that a lot, but he didn't. Those "days" that everyone reminisced so fondly on were just last month to Byleth. That's what made the pain so much worse, that he never had those 5 years to prepare himself for the inevitable confrontation at Gronder field. In fact, last month was when he had rescued Sylvain from an obsessed girl, and now his body lay among the many that littered that cursed field.

Byleth nodded at Bernadetta's question. "I am." But that was a lie, he knew it; she knew it. Yet he wanted to try and convince himself that he was alright.

The archer furrowed her brow. "That's a lie." She said. Busted, Byleth slumped his shoulders and retreated into his room, sitting on the edge of his bed as Bernadetta entered after; shutting the door behind her. She sat next to him, both of them staring at the wall ahead of them.

"It bothers me too you know...A lot of them were nice to me...Caspar...Dorothea...I wonder if she even knew I was in the battle, I wonder if she knew I was alive...Would she still have tried to kill me?" She spoke with a tone of melancholy. Sadness dripping from every word she spoke, it pained Byleth to hear her speak like this.

Everything that Byleth had done with those students was reduced to nothing.

"I'm sorry...Bernadetta...I'm sure if I had said something, if I had tried to do something...Maybe they could've joined us..."

Bernadetta shook her head. "I don't know Professor...Five years is a long time, a lot has happened...A lot of things fell and crumbled. For a while even I thought you were...Were..." Bernadetta's voice grew shaky, and Byleth patted her gently on the head in an attempt to calm her down. She jumped at first, but smiled at the gesture.

"We're all so glad you're alive Professor...Even the ones who fought...I'm sure they were happy to see you alive, I'm sure if the circumstances were different, they would've wanted to side with you, to be with you once again...Deep down they wanted that..."

Bernadetta hoped her words were reaching Byleth, his stoic face being hard to read.

"What would you have done Bernadetta? If you had not joined the Golden Deer...And we met on the battlefield...Would you try to kill me?"

Bernadetta's heart sank at this question. "Of course not! I-I'd join you immediately!"

"You say that now, but what if you hadn't had my guidance until then. What if you, like everyone else...Had been through so much, and believed in the side you were fighting for..."

"Professor!"

Byleth turned to face the girl and was shocked at the sight, tears had begun to well in the corners of her eyes as she was holding back sobs. "P-Please...Don't talk about something like that...I-I..." She hugged him tightly. "I'm here now okay!? I'm not gonna fight you, I'm gonna stand by your side. I wish things had ended up differently truly, but I don't blame myself and neither should you! You couldn't have foreseen something like this!"

She looked up at him, her chin on his chest. "We're here now Professor...I'm here now...The others at Gronder...There was nothing we could've done, but they don't hate you. They could never hate you. No matter what they said or what they did, deep down they could never bring themselves to hate you." She snuggled her face into his chest again.

"You were their Professor after all..."

Byleth didn't say much, he didn't know how to respond. Bernadetta had begun to sob lightly into his chest, and Byleth wrapped his arms around her before he too...

Began to gently sob.

Sorry for the LOOONNNGGGGGGGG silence. At this point I don't know if I can do the once a month schedule I had planned. I'll try, but it looks like I'm gonna be uploading whenever I can.

Hope ya'll can continue to stick with me! I will make it to 100 chapters I swear it!

Until next time.