The Three Houses of Hyperdimension

A Fire Emblem: Three Houses & Hyperdimension Neptunia Crossover Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Episode 3: Archery

Pull, hold, aim, release.

Thunk.

Claude grimaced as he saw that his arrow was an inch or two left of the bullseye. Pulling another arrow from his quiver, he nocked it to try again...

Pull, hold, aim, release.

Thunk. Bullseye.

Claude nodded and smiled to himself... but said smile swiftly vanished. "Okay, who's trying to sneak up on me?"

"Sneak up? Please. My bare feet are just naturally quiet." That voice... Ah. Claude promptly turned to the source- none other than little Sothis. "So... archery, huh?"

"Yep. Not to brag, but I'm pretty good at it," Claude stated matter-of-factly.

"But why? Aren't bows and arrows obsolete in this day and age, with guns around?"

"Not necessarily. A lot of people still use bows and arrows for hunting," Claude pointed out. "And there are some who can imbue their arrows with magic and elemental energies. That's part of why I came here, actually- I wanted to see if I could learn to do that myself."

"And how is that working out?" Sothis pressed.

"Well, to be blunt... not good at all. Professor Hanneman said that I don't have much talent for magic, that I'd be better off taking up swordplay to complement my archery if I get caught at melee range," Claude sighed, nocking another arrow.

Pull, hold, aim, release.

Thunk. Just an inch too high.

"But why become an archer at all? Do you just not like guns or something?" Sothis inquired.

"Yeah, something like that." Pull, hold, aim, release.

Thunk. Bullseye.

"...You said that nobles tried to poison you in your youth," Sothis hesitantly ventured. "Did they try to kill you with guns as well?"

"Oh yeah, some did. But by that time I was learned enough to always have an escape route." Setting his bow down, Claude turned to face the young greenette. "But that wasn't the major reason... see, when I was little, I saw this movie about a guy with skin colored similarly to mine getting chased by corrupt government agents because he unwittingly had a piece of evidence that could expose all their shady dealings to the public. I thought it was pretty cool until the end..."

"What happened?"

"Well, at the end, the poor sap was caught between the corrupt agents and the mafia, who both thought the other guys had something they wanted. Before I knew it, they suddenly opened fire on each other! Blam, blam, blamblamblam! The hero survived, but almost everyone else died, and there was a lot of blood. Gave me nightmares for a while... So yeah, I swore off ever using a gun after that."

"Makes sense, I guess," Sothis nodded slowly. "But you obviously aren't the only archer; otherwise, why would there be a dedicated range?"

"Well, you gotta understand that Garreg Mach has been around since ancient times," Claude pointed out. "But attendance at the academy has been declining ever since guns were invented, since those are a lot easier to learn than magic or bows. It's basically the combined efforts of nobles from the three provinces bordering this place wanting to preserve the old ways, is the big reason it hasn't closed down yet. That's kinda why the other two major professors are magic users, since that's still somewhat applicable even in modern times."

"I get it," Sothis nodded. "But they didn't have a close-combat teacher until Byleth came along?"

"Well, it was supposed to be that Jeritza guy, but Bishop Rhea didn't trust him. Given that he vanished after Flayn's attempted kidnapping, looks like she was on the money. I didn't trust him much, myself. The son of Jeralt the Blade-Breaker, on the other hand... yeah, he was basically a shoo-in, even if he'd never been a teacher before."

"I suppose," Sothis said, putting her hands behind her head. "He told me that he was glad most of the students were well-behaved, otherwise he might have been overwhelmed at first. He pegged, you, Hubert and Sylvain as the most obvious troublemakers."

"Me? Ouch," Claude grimaced, though his smirk quickly returned. "I mean, yeah, I'm a schemer, but mostly out of necessity. I can understand Hubert though, he was voted 'most likely to become a villain' on an online poll on the Internep. Sylvain... he's a skirt-chaser, sure, but he can buckle down when stuff gets serious. From what I've observed, anyway."

"Yes, I'm just glad I'm too young for him to take an interest," Sothis snarked, drawing laughter from the Golden Deer leader. "Speaking of problem students, that Bernadetta who always stays locked up in her room... she's an archer too, isn't she?"

"Yeah, probably she doesn't like getting up close and personal with anyone, especially on the battlefield," Claude nodded. "Probably thinks that guns are too loud for her, too scary. Honestly, I have no idea how she even ended up here at the academy. But hey, I'm not a Black Eagle, so..."

"But that Marianne is part of your house, right?" Sothis pointed out. "She seems to have issues with people as well..."

"Yeah, I know she's adopted, but I dunno much other than that," Claude shrugged. "She likes to talk to animals, especially Dorte the horse. Apparently he's a good listener."

"Right," Sothis rolled her eyes. "Maybe she should try riding him sometime, make herself and the horse useful..."

"Heh! That's a good one," Claude chuckled. "Maybe she should. I'll try suggesting that to her next time. At least she's devout, praying constantly to the goddess and whatnot. Heck, when Lady Blanc came to visit, she just closed her eyes and bowed her head in reverence. At least, I think that's what she was doing..."

"Maybe she was too scared to say anything. That Blanc was upset with the bishop for some reason..."

"Yeah, I tried asking around, but Headmaster Seteth just shut me right down," Claude recalled. "Apparently it was a personal matter. I know Blanc also talked to Teach, but he won't say anything either. He did seem a little shook up, though..."

"I noticed that, too," Sothis nodded. "Something about his mother, apparently... but I don't know anything other than that."

"Yeah, that was long before my time," Claude shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but like I said yesterday, I'm not about to get on the professor's bad side. He's a terror on the battlefield, let me tell ya. His old name as the 'Ashen Demon' was well-earned."

"Yes, I've seen him fight. Not many could stand up to him one-on-one," Sothis agreed. "If anyone can make warriors out of you and the other students, he surely can!"

"Oh, he does, believe me. Sword sparring practice with him always leaves me with sore arms," Claude frowned briefly at the memory. "Speaking of which, I gotta head to the sparring arena next. Teach says I should try sparring with that Felix guy from the Blue Lions house if I want to up my game." He picked up his bow before heading to retrieve his arrows from the target. "You probably should get back to him, before he starts worrying, huh?"

"I suppose so," Sothis sighed. "Bye for now." She turned and left, pondering something to herself. (So it seems like Byleth is trying to foster cooperation between the three houses... I wonder...) A smirk suddenly sprouted on her face as an idea came to her. (Ah-ha! I've got it!) So she ran off to the dorms...

*Episode 3- End*

A/N: Uh-oh, I wonder what little Sothis is scheming... ;-)