I sometimes wonder if this fic is more noticeable on AO3 or on this website... Oh well! Here's the next one!

Chapter sixteen: 6/25 Midterm Survival

6/25 Monday: Early Morning; Ignis Avenue

Even though the first day of summer had passed last Thursday, it really felt like the fall. It had been fifteen degrees throughout the whole weekend such that Robyn and Robin opted to wear their winter uniforms again until temperatures warmed up again. For a first day of summer, it was pretty cold.

Could it be possible that at the shortening daylight hours were correlated to the heat disappearing? Gosh, this was going to drive Robyn insane. Too much was at stake here! Every minute used going to school could have been used to save the world… And now with the coming of colder temperatures in summer, did that mean the sun was setting faster than it should have? Would that mean longer winters? No hot summers let alone warm?

Robyn felt Robin pat her arm. "Hey. The world can wait a little. Midterms won't," he said. "Don't worry about it! We'll save the world next month."

Honestly, that was something Robyn would have said herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Given she remembered what possible future there was in store, she wasn't so sure.

Still, while the heat was letting up, midterms were not. Today was the first day of midterms and they were scheduled to be in the morning and they were walking on Ignis Avenue towards school earlier than usual. There would be time to cram when they got there.

6/25 Monday: Morning; Ylisstol High School, Homeroom

Everyone had showed up on time for the first day of midterms and Ms. Flavia had distributed exam papers to each student in class. There were green booklets and there were pink booklets passed around in alternating order, designed to discourage cheating.

By the time Robyn and Robin got their copies, they visibly noticed that they were given different booklets. Well! If they were really the same person, then at least this was one thing in the universe where they clearly were doing something the same, yet different.

"You may begin," Ms. Flavia announced.

Even so, they took the simultaneous approach to skim their booklets briefly and look for questions or problems they could solve immediately and which would take more time. It was a matter of how to budget the hour so that there was enough time to finish each problem so that the limited time they had was not wasted.

Just like planning their upcoming strategy in the Halidom.

Meanwhile as Robyn and Robin calmly approached their midterm, Chrom and Miriel were approaching their exams in similar fashion and Tharja looked disappointed. Gaius was messing with his hair as if he were about to rip it out, and Vaike had no idea what he was doing.

It was going to be a long day.

6/26 Tuesday: Afternoon; Ylisstol High School, Gym

If yesterday was a long day, then today would be just as long. The next day of midterms occurred in the school gym. After the morning session of midterms, there came lunch and then the afternoon. Robyn and Robin basically completed the questions at the same pace and time. Although they were in different order, the content was the same.

Even some of the questions which they had trouble with took the same time to process and think over before they attempted them!

6/27 Wednesday: Morning; Ylisstol High School, Homeroom

The penultimate round of midterms occurred in the homeroom once more, this time covering the remainder of subjects of the term. Robyn and Robin had a good feeling as they began writing the last of their exams this morning. Judging by the speed of their writing, they looked confident too.

Sumia looked confused, Stahl looked normal (whatever that meant), Lon'qu looked puzzled, and Miriel looked like she knew what she was doing. It seemed like Miriel was on course to outclass the rest, whereas Chrom looked composed. As she snuck glances at them, Robyn was amused. In the end, they were all still high school students needing to conquer the education system. It seemed insignificant when saving the world at stake.

She felt like answers and knowledge were flowing out from her pencil to the paper below. She felt unstoppable! Plus, this exam was overall not too difficult, for the record. It seemed the hours spent studying and preparing had been worthwhile.

6/28 Thursday: Afternoon; Ylisstol High School, Homeroom

It wasn't before long that the final round of midterms had arrived. Robyn and Robin continued their same approach to the midterm like they did the past week. They simply started scanning for questions they knew and studied before, and more time to rack their brains for ones with longer responses. This midterm in particular involved writing a short essay, so there really was no time to waste in thinking, planning, and executing the essay before the clock ran out. It involved an opinion piece, so they had their work cut out to think of a proper answer.

Gaius appeared to silently scream and pull his hair as he couldn't figure how to approach the midterm like the first day. For the better of a quarter of an hour, he spent time trying to rack his brain. There was panic in his eyes. Behind him, Stahl was behaving just like Gaius, although with half the drama and half the panic. And finally there was Cordelia sitting behind Stahl, who was already more than halfway done her essay.

The outcome seemed very clear.

6/29 Friday: After School; Ylisstol High School, School Gate

The cold spell continued throughout the week and did not let up by the time school ended that day. Robyn and Robin left the school still in their winter uniforms and in time to get much-needed rest. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a time to plan out and execute the next attack in the Halidom.

But they were simply too tired in light of midterms. They really wanted a break. It was the weekend after all! So there was an evident trade-off to either rest up and refresh their minds, or go straight to developing a strategy for the Halidom. It was also cold despite being the early days of summer, so there was no desire to head outside either.

"How about we grab a bite to eat?" Robin suggested. "We can get Morgan to come with us."

"What are you craving?" Robyn replied.

"Hmm…" Robin stared away, then his eyes lit up and he looked back at Robyn.

"It's poutine, right? And because it's cold, right?" Robyn said, smiling.

That caused Robin to scoff and then laugh. Should he be surprised that Robyn could read his mind like that? Or was it the other way around – that he was reading her mind? Shortly after Robin made a phone call to Morgan at home, they went to meet her at the intersection of Ylisse Street and Ignis Avenue. There was a wind chill and they didn't want to stay outside for too long.

6/29 Friday: After School; Parthia Plaza, Food Court

There was a poutinerie located at Parthia Plaza which was one of the handful of independent businesses struggling to survive when Anna's was right across the street. In addition to its diverse businesses, Parthia Plaza's food court was certainly one of its spearheads that Anna's could not compete. Of course, there was Goldenrod Square, but that was another story…

Robyn and Morgan were sitting at one of the food court tables patiently waiting for Robin to get the food. It was a good thing that they were able to trade in more gold coins retrieved from the Halidom to the metalworker for more funds. That included the two bowls of poutine Robin bought.

"Thanks for waiting," Robin said, while placing the tray in front of the girls.

"Curry poutine eh?" Robyn raised an eyebrow, looking at the steaming bowls that had lots of fries coated in curry instead of gravy. "That's really fitting of you, Currypan-kun."

Robin blushed a bit, which Morgan noticed. "Currypan-kun…?"

"It's nothing, Morgan," Robin quickly said.

"Thanks for the food!" Robyn said, and she started to eat. From the looks of it, the meal was very high in salt and fat, but it seemed welcoming when the temperatures were cool. Plus, they had to walk back home, which could burn off some of the calories gained.

As they ate, Morgan asked, "How were your exams, Big Bro? Big Sis, too!"

Robin shrugged. "They went alright, I guess. I'm certain we'll have passed them. Hey, Robyn? How did yours…?"

But Robyn was staring only at her food as if lost in thought. She started sniffling and her eyes started to water. Robin blinked. Was there something that evoked Robyn's memories? The food? Or was it Morgan, maybe? He decided it was best to leave Robyn to her thoughts until she was ready to speak. Eventually, he couldn't leave her be.

"Robyn…?" Robin said.

"I… I miss him so much…" Robyn whispered through sniffles.

"Welcome back, Big Sis!" a young Morgan greeted Robyn from the kitchen table as she returned home from an exhausting day at school. Midterms was really a first for Robyn given she had just started high school, so the reality shock had to settle in. "Oh? What's wrong?" Morgan asked. Clearly, the burden of midterms had weighed her down.

"I'm soooooo tired. You wouldn't get it, but midterms are hard," Robyn replied. She dropped her schoolbag beside the top of the stairs and dropped herself on the couch. She looked ready to pass out.

"Still, it's a test of some sort, right? If it's hard, maybe you haven't studied hard enough." Wow, so even Morgan was trying to act smart for his age, but he was right. Robyn couldn't deny that. She needed to study more in the future.

Morgan soon walked over to sit on the other couch beside Robyn. "How about this? You go take a shower and we'll make dinner together. We haven't done that for a while! You can sleep early too."

Robyn smiled a little. Tired as she was, a shower wasn't a bad idea. Getting some early sleep sounded welcoming. The prospect of making dinner together with Morgan wasn't bad either.

"What shall we have tonight, Morgan?"

"Fried rice?"

"Sure."

"Robyn?"

Robyn blinked, her eyes visibly shedding tears and she wasn't even away she had done so during the flashback. She dabbed her eyes with her sleeve and looked back at her curry poutine. It was still warm. She looked back at Robin, whose eyes were concerned for her.

"I'm okay." Quickly Robyn tried to brighten up her expression so as to not worry him. She looked at Morgan. "My exams went well, Morgan! Probably just as good as your big brother! I can bet you ninety-nine percent that we'll have similar scores."

Morgan smiled a sweet smile. "That's good! So at least you have each other to compare to. I bet that if it was just you two studying together, no subject would be a challenge." She giggled a little, which was enough for Robyn to smile back. "Big Sis. Eat. Your food is getting cold."

As Robyn got back to her food in higher spirits, Robin smiled and got back to his food too. Regardless of whatever Robyn was thinking, a little bit of food wouldn't hurt to lift up anyone's mood. Curry poutine sure was tasty…

"Say, Big Sis… Why call Big Bro 'Currypan-kun'? What's that about?" Morgan said.

Robyn chuckled. After she swallowed her bite, she said, "Okay, so here's what happened…"

Robin would have loved to have interrupted Robyn's explanation but decided against it. There was a better way. "Okay, Morgan. Let me tell you a story about melon pan later. You'll enjoy it." When his eyes made contact with Robyn's, they both smiled.

7/1 Sunday: Morning; Iris-shi Public Library

The cold spell did not give up at all despite being the first of July. Temperatures had dropped to a mere five degrees C and Robyn and Robin were still wearing winter clothes when they set outside. It might as well have snowed. They were going to meet up with some of the Shepherds at the Iris-shi Public Library, located adjacent to Parthia Plaza on Anathema Road.

On the plus side, the longer hours of summer sunshine was very welcome in temperatures like these. It almost made Robyn and Robin want to fall asleep while walking to the library. Then again, with the pair having been so caught up with midterms last month, they didn't mind the passing new moon last month.

But with this kind of cold weather today which felt like wintertime, Robyn realised that reality was starting to kick back at her. If things continued as Miriel projected, the world would run out of daylight by the end of the month. That would be ominous. And hence why they needed to meet now.

Of course, cramming in some study hours wouldn't hurt at all. It wouldn't be long before final exams and final projects were due come near the end of the month. That left Robyn with another trade-off: should she sacrifice the world, or her grades? It was a tough position, since no one – except the Shepherds – knew she was out on a mission to save the world while trying to survive school. What manner of inequality was this?

But at least she knew she wasn't alone in this when she met up at one of the tables in the library, where it was warm and toasty. Chrom, Lissa, Gaius, Vaike, and Cordelia were gathered at table in one of the library's private rooms designed for group discussions. Like them, they were dressed in winter clothes, knowing it was cold. A point gladly pointed out by Lissa.

"Gosh, it might as well snow at this point," she remarked. She wasn't that far off from the truth, given the minute and occasional flakes of snow falling from the sky outside. Snowing in July? The world was not what it was, clearly.

They got to studying their textbooks, taking notes, and began work on their projects. Research papers on one hand, essays on another, plus a presentation. For Robyn, it was fortunate she had someone like Robin to team up with on some of these assignments. It was like they shared the same brain and could divide up the work evenly between them, so that when they explained to each other, they understood each other instantly.

Cordelia obviously noticed that. "It's not fair… It's like Robyn-san and Robin-kun are sharing the work but getting the same understanding. It's kind of like cheating."

"I can assure you, Cordelia. Cloning the mind is unheard of, and they are not clones," Miriel remarked.

"Not unless you believe in dark magic! Which reminds me, that's something I have to try out. Just trying a few incantations…" Henry suggested.

"Don't." Tharja glared at him. "Focus on your studies, sir."

Incantations… Could that have strategic value? And with Henry and Tharja together, no less. Robyn could notice that Robin was as distracted as she was, and they had an itch to jot that down in their strategy book. Robin went to do that first, which put Robyn's mind at ease. There would be time to plan out their attack in the Halidom after the first portion of their studies were done. For what it was worth, it could take the whole morning.

And if Robin was thinking what Robyn was thinking, they might even record more of Henry and Tharja in the support log, just for the fun of it.

7/1 Sunday: Afternoon; Parthia Plaza, Marutama Ramen

That really felt like an effective use of their time. A good chunk of their textbooks had been read and recorded in their notebooks for further study and review. Afterwards, they decided to take lunch at the popular Marutama Ramen, which always seemed full every hour no matter what time of the day.

It was fortunate that when they arrived, the shop was not busy. No giant crowd was waiting in line and Shepherds were each able to get a seat, although not exactly at the same table (that was impossible). Robyn and Robin ordered the same thing together to treat themselves: chashu tamago ramen with extra noodles, which had extra slices of chashu pork added to the regular tamago bowl. Without further, Robyn and Robin dove into their bowls faster than everyone else. Even Gaius and Vaike, who had an appetite, had to stop and watch.

It didn't mean they ate the whole thing in one go, of course. Marutama Ramen was simply too enjoyable to be wasted at once, no matter how hungry you were. Rather, Robyn and Robin kept eating spoonful after spoonful and their minds were closed off from the world. Before long, when everyone else's bowls had arrived, Robyn and Robin had ordered an extra round of noodles with plenty of chicken broth left over.

And by plenty, as Stahl pointed out when he was halfway through his bowl, there was plenty. It was as if filling their bowls with a third round of noodles hadn't changed the overall amount in the bowl. There was plenty chashu pork left, a slice of nori, with more green onion and bamboo shoots. Then on top of that, Robyn and Robin piled it high with fried garlic and sesame, for extra bite. It occurred to Stahl that their bowls looked identical too, as if they mirrored each other's movements. Even the fried garlic was piled the same!

It didn't take long for them either when they realised Stahl and everyone's eyes were on them. They both lifted up their heads to look at the staring eyes. Robyn and Robin both blushed, wondering what was going on, as if they were doing something that wasn't ordinary.

"Um… Is everyone okay?" Robin said.

Robyn couldn't have said it better herself.

Stahl lifted up a hand. "Clearly everyone is not! They're letting the soup go cold, which is quite unfortunate when you come to Marutama Ramen. You two are the only ones okay, enjoying hot food." He waved to the cook. "More noodles, please!"

"Coming!" the cook replied.

Chrom smiled. Seemed that Stahl had a very good point. Why should Robyn and Robin be the only ones to enjoy their meals? They clearly showed discernment. He turned his attention to his bowl of aka ramen, piled high with seven kinds of nuts infused with the flavour of the chicken broth. It was very rich in flavour, best eaten hot and not cold.

Robyn also kept up with her bowl too. It wouldn't be long before she had to discuss the strategy later, so best to enjoy the food now.

The curry poutine was actually an idea a friend of mine gave me, so I featured it here!