(Author's Note)
Hey guys! So, didn't make the weekly upload I had going on there like I was hoping for, but hey, under two weeks is still pretty good I feel.
I'm debating how I want to have the progression of these chapters go moving forward. Like, as an example, today's chapter is based entirely on 4/24th, which is what I'll be considering the first day of classes. I don't know if I'll be keeping the one day at a time thing that's been put forward with this chapter, but I will be mostly keeping up with it for the next few chapters leading up to the Mock Battle.
Now, with that out of the way, Reviews!
To AK632612: Unfortunately, I don't really have any plans to truly go over any supernatural talk between Ren and Byleth this early on. I'll say that as it currently stands, as far as Ren is concerned, the Divine Pulse was either a figment of his imagination while he was heavy combat, or a one off thing that he can't entirely explain right now. Of course, that's absolutely gonna change as time progresses but for now...
To Incognito74: I am absolutely going to be dragging other house members into this mess of a plot I'm hashing out. Nothing major as of now, but things will begin to spin once the mock trial ends. I know of two students who immediately jump to my mind that are gonna be added to the class but no spoilers for now.
To Mad Thought: I have plans to shake up the route heavily, though most of it will be post time skip. Think of it like how the Black Eagle Route separates into either the rest of the black eagle route, or the church route. The plan is to split off into another route around the time of the time skip. So while I can't promise a happy family for EVERYONE, Ren will be doing his best to make it happen.
To Guest: Current pairing is mostly locked down, but I'm still thinking it over. No harem route, though might include some sort of pseudo "Valentines Day" event if things progress to a specific point. Still thinking on that.
To Krumpte: Joker will is gonna get more times to shine. Last chapter was really stiff in comparison to what I was able to write up this time. And most of his current style of combat is mostly due to him not being able to pull off as much stuff as he would've been able to in his Metaverse Outfit, since without that he's not fully receiving the benefits his Persona's provide. Cat and Mouse shenanigans will come into play, but with how I've been planning actions regarding the metaverse, I don't have a concrete idea of how it'll play out in that regard. See the above note regarding pairings, though for right now it won't come into play until much, much later. As for Beach/Hotspring episode... I don't know how I'd go about that so for now that's something I'm considering but not outright confirming.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! These really help keep me motivated and to keep pumping out updates for this. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave a review! And with all of that said...
It's showtime!
"These are the students' quarters. To better help you supervise them, we had hoped for the two of you to also have rooms here." Seteth began, as he directed Byleth and Ren alongside the student dorms. "Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, we don't have enough room to accommodate both of you in the dorms. So we have come to a separate decision. We do have one space available here, and another that is a bit larger, though it's not exactly clean since no one has made use of it for a long time."
"The choice is up to you." He said, coming to a stop as he turned to face the two professors.
"Any preferences?" Ren asked, glancing at his partner in not crime.
"I'm fine with either. I don't need that much space anyways." Byleth said, looking over at Ren. "If you'd rather the larger space then I'm perfectly fine taking the dorm room."
"Alright then. Let's do that." Ren said, looking back at Seteth.
"Excellent. Professor Eisner, your key. Your room is at the end back that way on the first floor. You are free to decorate the interior as you see fit, but proper upkeep is up to you." Seteth said, handing the key to Byleth. "Now, regarding the student quarters, commoner students also reside on the first floor, while the second is primarily for students of noble birth."
Seteth paused, turning back around to face Ren. "As a rule, we try to avoid discrimination based on social status here. But the nobility can be quite insistent when it comes to matters of propriety."
"That doesn't surprise me." Ren muttered to himself.
"Speaking of, it would be best for the two of you to avoid improper conduct. I expect you two to set a good example for the students." Seteth finished, before turning to Ren. "Now, if you'll follow me. Your quarters are not too much further."
Ren gave a passing wave at Byleth as the mercenary walked off to aquant herself with her new lodgings. The thief meanwhile followed after Seteth as they approached a building that was built between the gap where the two buildings housing the dorms were built.
Ren blinked, looking up at the square shaped structure. Two floors from the look of it. He glanced over at Seteth as the man pulled out a key and opened the door.
"This will be your lodgings for the foreseeable future. We originally planned to use it for storage purposes but decided to forgo that. Until now, it's been collecting dust as you can see." Seteth said, stepping inside to allow Ren access to the main room.
The teen stepped inside and glanced around. The room seemed spacious, though the boxes stacked around made everything rather crowded.
"The door by the stairs leading to the attic is where you'll find the bathroom." Seteth said. "A word or warning however, Professor Hanneman had decided to use this space to test out a way to improve the plumping at the monastery. I am told that everything works, and that he's made a disposal system of some kind, but I wouldn't hold my breath."
Seteth paused. "Well, if it doesn't work, it would probably be best if you did anyways. Moving on however, you'll also find some cleaning supplies in the bathroom. There's a mattress upstairs we brought up earlier today, and a desk for you to go over your schedules with."
"Thank you for all the help, Seteth." Ren said after a moment.
"Hm." Seteth nodded, handing the key to the building to Ren before making his way towards the door. "I'll leave you to it for now. I await to see you in action during the mock battle. Until next time."
Ren let out a breath as Seteth closed the door on his way out. "Alright, let's see what I'm working with upstairs then." He said, moving towards the stairs by the back of the room. He glanced up as he ascended, making his way into the attic that was less cluttered but still relatively dusty.
"...It's almost like I'm back home." Ren muttered, looking around. "The layout is practically the same. Hell, even downstairs is the same…"
The Phantom Thief paused, running a finger over the surface of a nearby box. "...Yeah, this definitely feels like Leblanc's attic." Ren said, looking down at the dust that coated his finger. He wiped the dust off his finger with a sigh as he looked around the room. "...I should go get those cleaning supplies Seteth was talking about earlier…"
It had taken an hour, but the attic was mostly clean of dust and cobwebs. The main floor would need another clean up in the morning, but otherwise? He at least had somewhere clean to sleep tonight.
Ren let out a sigh, moving over to the desk by the back corner of the room opposite his bed. He pulled his messenger bag off his back and pulled out a stack of paper. The information contained within detailed most of the required materials that he'd have to go over for when classes started for real after the mock battle. He placed the stack down on the table and sat down as he looked through the pages.
"History… Mathematics…" Ren muttered, flipping through as he sat down on the wood chair stationed in front of his new desk. "And… Wait, Combat Strategies?"
Ren paused, turning to peer out the window with a tired look on his face as he looked out at the night sky. "It's not Leblanc… Maybe one day it'll be close, but for now, it's home." He said, standing up as he walked over to his bed and laid down. "Never thought I'd miss it… Morgana telling me to go to sleep every night…"
(Wake up, Get up, Get out there!)
Ren bleary opened his eyes, his hand reaching for his smartphone as he pulled it out of his pocket to see his alarm ringing.
(Raise your voice against liar-!)
Ren pressed down on the dismiss button with a groan as he pulled himself to a sitting position. "...I hope this building is properly soundproofed…" Ren muttered to himself as he lowered the alarm volume on his phone.
Ren pulled himself to a stand and moved over to the neatly folded pile of clothing sitting on his desk chair. He looked down at himself before quickly changing into his usual attire.
"And then…" Ren muttered idly as he flicked open his false glasses and pushed them onto his face, the lenses flashing ever so slightly as what little sun that came through the window bounced off his frames. "All right!"
He nodded to himself before the sound of someone knocked on the door downstairs. "One second!" He said, picking up his messenger bag as he walked down the stairs and maneuvered through the boxes to reach the door. It occurred to him that he forgot to lock up last night when he easily opened the door to reveal the ever blank face of Byleth. "Good Morning."
Byleth nodded, stepping into Ren's work in progress living space. "We should discuss how we want to proceed."
Ren nodded, closing the door behind her as the two sat down on some of the wood boxes by the door. "Forward, I assume." Ren said sarcastically.
"That is true, but I was referring to the Black Eagles." Byleth said, either ignoring or missing Ren's attempt at humor.
Ren shook his head lightly as Byleyh continued. "With the mock battle coming up soon, it would be beneficial to get a feel for our students. What they're good at, what they're goals or interests are…"
"And how well they play as a team." Ren interjected. Byleth blinked looking over at him. "You can be as strong as an army, but without people to watch your back and synchronize with, you won't get far on the battlefield."
"You sound experienced in that regard." Byleth noted.
The Thief nodded. "Without my teammates, I wouldn't be standing here today."
He couldn't count the number of Dia's and other heal spells Mona threw at him, or how often Queen would slap him with that paper fan to wake him up from some random status effect, or just how many times his teammates threw themselves onto an attack meant for him.
He really wished they would stop doing that last one as often, but he'd have done the same for any of them.
Ren looked down at his hands, a melancholic smile forming on his face. 'I guess I should take it as a good thing that they won't be doing that again…' He thought to himself before he shook his head. "Right, it's early and I imagine we're both feeling rather hungry. Care to join me for breakfast?"
The pair paused in front of the double doors leading into the cafeteria, the smell of cooked eggs, meat and other such breakfast foods slammed into the two of them.
"...Right, so about our plans for today-" Ren said after a moment, before blinking as Byleth quickly walked ahead into the Cafeteria. "...or you could leave me behind…"
He exhaled through his nose as the teen walked in behind Byleth. It didn't take long to get food, nor was it hard to find an empty table for the two to sit at. The thief let out a quiet "Thanks for the food." before stabbing the sausage on his plate with the fork he had grabbed earlier. He glanced up at Byleth, eyebrow raised as he watched the girl eat with gusto.
"So… About today?" He asked, before taking a bite of the sausage. "...Mm, good!"
Byleth swallowed. "I believe today would be best spent figuring out what roles our students have made for themselves. We don't have enough time to push them in a different direction before the mock battle, so it would be better for us to help them improve on their current skills for the Time being."
"And then once that's done, we spend the following day figuring out which of our students can synergize better with their classmates. We are only allowed to take a certain number of students with us into the mock battle..." Ren said, crossing his arms. "I'll probably be of more help during the second day than today, if I'm speaking honestly."
"I wouldn't go that far. You're an excellent swordsman, and you're nimble. You would do fairly well as target practice if nothing else." Byleth said with a straight face as she blatantly stole a sausage from Ren's plate.
"...Was that supposed to be a joke…?" Ren muttered to himself.
"No, I was being honest." Byleth said.
Ren stared blankly at his partner before an arm landed around his shoulder. "Well, well! If it isn't two of my favorite Professors!"
"Claude." Byleth said, nodding at the house leader before returning to her meal.
"So, you guys made your house choice yet?" Claude asked, pulling the seat out next to Ren as he sat down. "Classes do start in a little over 40 minutes."
"Perhaps." Ren said, using the opportunity a full mouthed Byleth presented, as he looked over at the yellow clothed man. "Can't really say who though, you'll have to wait to find out."
"Wow, Prof, really gonna make me work for it, huh." Claude said with a shake of his head, before he stood up from his seat. "Well, I see I'm not going to get anything from the two of you, so I suppose I'll find out elsewhere."
"Or you could wait." Byleth said.
"Where's the fun in that?" Claude said, giving a two finger salute as he walked off.
"...So, did he really just sit down for two seconds because he was that impatient, or am I reading that wrong?" Ren asked, watching Claude leave before he turned around to find another Sausage gone from his plate and impaled on Byleth's fork. "Oi, and stop stealing my food!"
"The Class should all be inside now." Byleth said, as the two of them stood outside the Black Eagle House's classroom.
"So, you want to go first or should I?" Ren asked, looking over at Byleth.
"It doesn't matter to me." Byleth said.
"Well, then I guess it's showtime." Ren said, tugging on his glove as he walked over towards the door.
"...Why is there…"
"...Ooh, he's…"
"...rules, no…"
"...stop petting..."
Ren blinked as he stopped in front of the twin doors, the voices of his students echoing from inside rather loudly. "The class is acting livelier than expected." Byleth noted calmly as she walked up next to the thief.
The teen turned professor looked at the door in confusion, before quickly opening the door to find the entirety of the Blake Eagle House surrounding one of the desks on the side. As the door creaked open, the crowd dispersed suddenly, moving back to turn towards the two professors that had just made their way into the room.
"Aw, busted." Ren raised an eyebrow at Caspar, as the blue haired teen sighed.
"Ah! I-I, I can explain!" The girl with purple hair spoke up, Bernadetta, if Ren remembered her name correctly.
"Explain… what exactly?" Ren asked after a moment.
"Yes, you were just in the middle of explaining why you brought an animal into the classroom, Bernadetta." Hubert said, crossing his arms.
Byleth raised an eyebrow. "An animal?"
"A real fluffy cat, they're adorable!" Dorithea said, reaching over to the side to grab the aforementioned animal.
"Gah, finally!" Ren blinked as a familiar voice assaulted his ear drums, before Dorothea lifted up a black and white cat, a yellow scarf wrapped around its neck before it squirmed out of her grip, landing on its paws on a nearby table as it faced the entire classroom. "Freedom! And I'm not some stuffed animal to be…!"
The cat paused, it's eyes locking onto the phantom thief's own as a heavy silence suddenly fell over the room. "...Joker?" The cat asked after a moment, his eyes widening as his form relaxed slightly.
"...Morgana?" Ren asked, before his eyes shot open in realization as a flood of different emotions rushed through him. "Morgana!?"
"U-uh…?" Caspar blinked as he watched the cat that was giving his whole class the cold shoulder suddenly perk up at the sight of the new arrival.
"What are you doing here? Are the others here too?" Morgana asked, tilting his head as he practically ran over to Joker's feet, the thief crouching down next to his partner in crime.
"Excuse me, but do you know this cat?" Ferdinand asked after a moment, dragging the two's attention away from their sudden reunion and back to what the main focus of today was supposed to be.
"Oh, shit, right." Ren muttered in Japanese, electing confused looks from the class and narrowed eyes from Morgana. "Yeah, this is Morgana." He continued, coughing into his fist as the cat quickly jumped onto his arm, scrambling over to the thief's shoulder as he made himself comfortable. "He wasn't causing too much trouble, was he?"
"It would be more accurate to state that some of our house was causing trouble because of him." Linhardt said, leaning back on the chair he was sitting on.
"They can't understand me, right?" Morgana asked after a moment, getting a 'Hm' from Ren in acknowledgement. "Then we can touch base later. For now, this feels a bit more important."
"Right." Ren said, both to answer Morgana, and to start his next sentence. "Byelth, I think we should move onto why we're here."
"Ah, that's right. You were here earlier asking about all of us earlier." Ferdinand began, nodding to himself. "So, I assume you two are going to be joining us as students here for the foreseeable future?"
"You should probably get your cat out of the classroom for now then." Caspar spoke up. "Wouldn't want to get in trouble on your first day, right?"
Ren glanced over at Byleth, before looking back at the class. "Yeah, about that…"
"In that case, I believe introductions are in order." Edelgard spoke up, walking up to Ren and Byleth as she turned around to face her house. "Byleth Eisner and Ren Amamiya. The two of them will be acting as our professors for the year."
"Wait, Professor!?" Morgana exclaimed, causing Ren to wince due to the close proximity to his ear. "When did this happen!?"
"Later…" Ren muttered under his breath, rubbing his ear lightly with his right hand.
"Wait, so our new professor is… the two of you?" Caspar asked in shock. "Didn't see that one coming…"
"Easy, Caspar. Aren't you being a bit rude?" Dorothea asked, tilting her head towards the teen.
"You know it's a waste of time to expect politeness from him." Linhardt said with a wave of his hand as he stood up.
"Hey! And you can't say that I'm completely wrong, having 2 professors isn't exactly normal." Caspar said, crossing his arms.
"Well, I'm not exactly normal to begin with, so at least that's still in character." Ren said with a shrug.
"I see you haven't changed that much…" Morgana deadpanned, adjusting his position after it was rudely disturbed by the teen.
"It's a pleasure to properly meet you all." Byleth said, nodding at her class.
"It will be a pleasure learning from you, Professors." Linhardt said, bowing his head lightly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to take a nap."
"Is he serious…?" Morgana asked.
"...Okay…" Ren muttered to himself. Byleth watched the teen sit back down and lay his head on his arms, before her eyes moved over to the teen standing next to the green haired teen.
"Ah! Don't look at me like that!" Ren had to admit, the speed at which Bernadetta moved to hide behind Dorothea was impressive. "Oh, and… please don't talk to me too much either."
"I'm sorry for the chaos the two of you have walked into…" Dorothea said, sparing a glance at the purple haired girl standing behind her.
"It's fine." Ren said with the wave of a hand.
"Yeah, we've definitely dealt with worse." Morgana said.
"I hear we are rather close in age." Ferdinand spoke up. "I hope you don't mind if we treat you both like one of us. In our class, we try to treat each other as equals, despite any differences in age or status. Personally, I would love to introduce you two into that inner circle."
"I don't mind at all." Byleth said with a nod, an action that was followed by Ren moments later.
"You have a gut, Professor. I will take great joy from your teachings." Petra spoke up, a look of mild determination forming on her face.
"Petra, I believe you meant to say our professor has guts. That's a bit different from having a gut." Dorothea explained, before she turned back to look at Byleth. "You can't go around saying someone so slim and attractive has a gut!"
"Oh? Please take my apologies. I have not yet mastered this language." Petra said, bowing slightly.
"Who has, honestly?" Ren said with a shrug. "And it's fine, this language isn't my first anyways."
"Oh, is that so? You speak it remarkably well. A bit of an accent, but otherwise…" Dorothea noted, her eyes widening.
"Yeah, you were… never this good at English before." Morgana said, before the cat blinked. "Actually, I had a hard time understanding it myself back in Tokyo, so why can I understand them now?"
"My Professors, I would like you to know that it's perfectly acceptable for the two of you to treat me the same as the others." Edelgard said, placing a hand on her hip. "I may be the Imperial Princess, but here at the academy, I'm just another student."
"Hold on, she's a princess?" Morgana asked.
'Morgana, you better not start going all "Lady Edelgard" on me…' Ren thought to himself.
"That said, know that I have high expectations of you. And high hopes. But I'm certain the two of you can lead the Black Eagle House to greatness." Edelgard finished, a determined look morphing onto her features.
"Sure, sure. Now, let's break the ice with some training!" Caspar said, pumping a fist with a grin as he looked at the two Professors. "I want to see our new teachers in action!"
"Why would the ice be broken? Is that a custom I have missed in my studies?" Petra furrowed her brow in confusion as she turned to look at Caspar.
"Not real ice, it's just the ice of… um…" Caspar fumbled over himself trying to explain the metaphor.
"It means to relieve tension from a group, or something along those lines." Ren said, scratching the side of his head. "It's not a phrase you really try and understand once it's just… part of your vocabulary…"
"Ah, I see. Thank you, Professor." Petra said, bowing lightly.
"I don't want to train!" Bernadetta said, shaking her head as she faced away from the class. "Let's just stay in the classroom and… learn from a book!"
"Let's all calm down and have a nice cup of tea, how about?" Dorothea broached. "Doesn't that sound lovely, Professor? Er, Professors?"
Ferdinand let out a low sigh as the sound of Linhardt's snores echoed through the classroom. "I know we all agreed to treat each other as equals, but there is a limit to what I can tolerate." Ferdinand said, his brows narrowing as he raised a clenched hand into the air. "The esteemed Black Eagle House requires order!"
"Eh, Order's overrated anyways." Morgana said.
"See, even the cat agrees with me!"
"That wasn't even close to what I said!" Morgana said, narrowing his eyes at Ferdinand. "Tell him, Leader!"
Ren raised an eyebrow at the Cat on his shoulder before Hubert chuckled to himself lightly as the classroom devolved into mostly mindless chatter.
"Looks like your first job will be to quiet down this racket. I don't envy you." Hubert said with a light smirk.
"Ugh, they are not normally this… rowdy." Edelgard said as she placed a hand on her forehead. "I do hope the two of you can manage."
"We'll do our best." Byleth said, before turning to me. "Ren, should we head to the Training Grounds for now then?"
Ren paused, before glancing at Morgana. "...Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Go on ahead with the class though, I need to go over a few things to Morgana here, just to lay some ground rules first. I shouldn't be more than a minute or two."
"You're… going to explain ground rules to a cat?" Hubert asked, raising an eyebrow.
The phantom thief shrugged. "Worked the last time."
"Alright, in that case if you all will follow me." Byleth said, before she looked over at Linhardt. "...Would someone wake him up?"
"Leave it to me!" Morgana said, his voice carrying over as a confident meow as the class watched the cat launch himself off Ren's shoulder. The display of acrobatics continued as Morgana landed directly onto Linhardt's head, causing the teen to bolt up in his seat, an action that also sent the cat flying back towards another desk.
Morgana, being both an experienced phantom thief and, well, a cat, landed expertly on his paws, a smug look on his feline face. "See, easy!"
"Glad of you to join us, Linhardt." Ferdinand said. "We have business at the training hall."
"Oh, joy." Linhardt said with a sigh as the class left the building, the doors swinging to a close behind them as Ren and Morgana stood in the middle of the room.
"...Okay, they're gone now." Morgana said, as Ren looked back at his partner in crime. "Now, an explanation please!?"
"Where do you want me to start?" Ren asked, leaning against one of the nearby tables.
"How about why you're here? Me, I sort of understand. The Metaverse was collapsing and I was supposed to disappear, so I figure this was some sort of afterlife thing…" Morgana began, before he narrowed his eyes at Ren. "But you guys were supposed to end up back in Reality! Why did you end up here? Better yet, did the others?"
"Just me, unfortunately… Or fortunately, depending on how you look at it…" Ren said with a sigh. "I… fell, I guess, into Mementos as it was disintegrating. I woke up after that in Fódlan, that's the name of this country by the way, where I met Byleth. And, well, one thing led to another, and now I'm teaching a class with her, as you saw just now…"
"You… fell… into mementos?" Morgana asked. "But wait, how do you know the others aren't here as well?"
"Igor and Lavenza are to thank for that information… Not much more though, but they said we'd meet again, so..."
"Master and Lady Lavenza? They contacted you!?" Morgana asked with wide eyes. "But, with the metaverse gone, your duty to stop the world's ruin should be done! I can understand it to ease worries, but…"
"...They said that ruin was approaching this world as well." Ren said with a sigh. "That I would play an important role in the battles to come…"
Morgana huffed. "After all this, you don't even get a break, huh?" He said, before he shook his head.
"Yep. It also means I need to form new confidants." Ren continued with a shrug. "They aren't replacing the other bonds I have, if the new blue cards are to be believed, but it's still weird being… well, the outcast again."
"Well, you have me again, so at least we're in this together." Morgana said, getting a smile from his partner in crime. "Hey, I wanted to ask one last thing for now."
"What's up?"
"While we might have destroyed Mementos back on our world, this world might still let us access the Metaverse." Morgana said. "Do you have the app?"
Ren blinked, before pulling out his phone. He unlocked it and scrolled through his apps before his eyes widened. "It's here…"
There, staring right at him, was the red eyed logo of the Metaverse Navigator. Morgana hopped onto Ren's shoulder and looked down at the phone. "Well, that answers that question. I think I got enough of an idea on what's happening for now, you should join up with your fellow professor."
"Yeah, this took a bit longer than I was expecting." Ren said, pocketing his phone as he turned to the doors to the classroom.
"So, does this mean I get to call you Professor Joker now?"
"Do not." Ren said, glancing at Morgana as he opened the doors and walked out.
"Sorry about the wait." Ren said, walking over to his class. He paused as Caspar glanced over at him with an excited look in his eyes. "...Okay, what's happening?"
"Catch." Byleth said, throwing a wooden training sword at the thief.
"Woah!" Morgana shouted, leaning off Ren's shoulder as the sword flew at where the cat had been moments earlier. Ren ducked to the side and grabbed onto the handle of the sword, halting it before it struck his chest. "What the hell was that for!?"
"The students wanted to see us in action, so why don't we show them?" Byleth asked, holding a training sword of her own.
Ren looked down at the sword in his hand, before glancing at Morgana as the Cat jumped back onto his shoulder. He smirked, taking his false glasses off. "Alright, let's put on a show then."
"I can't believe you agreed to this…" Morgan said, standing on Ren's shoulder as the Teen spun the practice sword in his hand.
"The students wanted to see us in action." Ren said, looking across the arena at Byleth who was staring him down. "And Byleth is… rather poignant on not missing training… Which… we haven't done for about 2 days now..."
"Hey, before you run off though, I was hoping you'd be able to do me a solid." Ren said, glancing at Morgana. "I have a plan, and when I give the signal… Showtime!"
"Oh? Ooh, I know that look in your eyes. This'll be good! I'm just gonna sit over there until you give the signal. Give her hell, Joker!" Morgana said, jumping off Ren's shoulder onto the ground. Ren gave a passing look as the cat ran over to the group of students watching in varying degrees of interest. He placed his messenger bag on the ground behind him before he turned back to face Byleth. His eyes locked onto hers, before they narrowed as he walked over to her.
"Shall we?" Ren asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Byleth gave a firm nod, before charging without a word, bringing her blade up to attack Ren's right side.
Ren narrowed his eyes and moved into Byleth's guard, clashing his sword with hers. A smirk formed on his lips as he turned his sword to face the ground, using the force Byleth was pressing into his blade to force hers towards the ground. The thief used the momentum of his change and flipped into the air, righting himself to bring his foot down and dropkick the spot Byleth was standing in a moment earlier.
He landed in a crouch and threw himself to the side, avoiding the counter stab Byleth had thrust at him as he transitioned into a handspring, allowing him to regain proper footing as the two fighters stared each other down.
"Did you see that!?" Ren heard Caspar exclaim from the crowd. He took a breath in before taking the initiative and restarting their clash, swinging his blade at Byleth's head. The woman's eyes narrowed as she brought her sword up to block, defending herself against the first swing before altering her stance as the second and third follow up swings were sent at her.
Ren jumped back and spun his sword around in his hand to get a better hold of it, before bringing it up and swinging it down at his now charging opponent. Byleth swung up, catching the attack with her blade and flicked her arm up, knocking Ren's sword out of his hand.
"Shit!" Ren cursed, taking a few steps back to distance himself from Byleth as she made to close the distance with him. 'Now!'
He flung his left hand into the air and snapped his fingers. "Eiha!"
Black and red wisps of energy pooled and shot into three air, bursting open in the air, drawing Byleth's eyes off the thief for all of a second before snapping back to her opponent.
That second was all Joker needed.
A flick of the wrist to bring the wooden dagger out of his sleeve, a quick toss to grip it by the blade and a strong throw that sent the blade sailing towards Byleth's face.
The swordswoman ducked to the side, the dagger sailing past her head as she came in to deliver the finishing blow. Her eyes narrowed at the Thief, raising her arm in preparation to swing her sword downwards.
The sight of the smirk that had formed on the teen's face sent off warning bells in Byleth's skull. She quickly followed in what direction he was looking at before spinning around to block the sudden impact that slammed into her sword.
Morgana was off the ground, pressing against Byleth's sword with Ren's wooden dagger held by the grip in his mouth. The cat bounced back and landed on the ground, giving Ren enough time to run to the side and pick up his sword.
"Did that cat just…?" Dorothea's voice broke over the second of silence as Byleth turned to look at Ren.
Her eyes scanned his, before she turned her head to look at Morgana, who was currently tensed and ready to pounce.
"...You cheated." Byleth said bluntly, looking over at Ren. The thief nodded, his grip on his sword tightening as he awaited her next words.
Byleth nodded once, before sheathing the sword at her side. "Well done." She said, turning to look at Morgana. "I wasn't aware you could train a cat to do that."
"Well…" Ren began, before shrugging as he loosened his grip on his practice weapon. "In real combat sometimes you need to take every advantage you can get."
"That's right. Now, I believe we're done giving our class a feel for our abilities." Byleth said, as the two professors turned back to look at their students. "Will that suffice?"
"Are you kidding!? That was awesome!" Caspar shouted, an excited look in his eyes. "And you're gonna teach us how to do stuff like that! We're gonna completely demolish the other houses at the mock battle!"
Edelgard eyed Ren with a calculating look. "Professor, how did you do that earlier?"
"Hm? Do what specifically? There was a lot I did in that fight?" Ren said, playing with one of the front curls of his hair.
"Your magic. I remember you used it earlier on that bandit that night. I didn't realize it then, but with further assessment… it feels completely different from normal magic." Edelgard said, gaining a curious look from some of her classmates.
"Seriously, how'd you even manage to channel your person's power like that in the real world anyways?" Morgana asked, hopping back up onto Ren's shoulder. "Know what, just tell me later when you're not the center of attention, yeah?"
"Ah, I thought I saw something off during that fight." Hubert said, placing a hand against his chin with a smile. "Professor, how exactly were you taught magic?"
Ren shrugged. "I was self taught."
"Interesting. Perhaps it would be best if I demonstrated." Hubert said, walking past Ren as he extended his hands to the side. There was a sudden shift in the air and Ren felt a strange chill run down his spine as black energy began to form around Hubert's outstretched hands. Hubert smiled, before pooling all of the energy into one of his hands and thrusting it forward, launching the magic out at the center of the training grounds.
The magic seemingly exploded before settling almost like smoke as Hubert lowered his hands. "That was Miasma Δ. A simple spell, but enough to get the point across."
"Was that a curse spell? Certainly looked like one." Morgana said, glancing at Hubert. "Hey, we should ask for more details."
"...There was something different, but I can't tell what." Ren said after a moment.
"Most magic is brought forth from different aspects of yourself. Dark Magic like that spell I cast earlier functions off of one's reason." Hubert began, before glancing over at Linhardt, who was listening to the conversation with a rare amount of interest. "While something like Light Magic that Linhardt prefers to utilize is based on one's Faith."
"Huh. That's certainly interesting. Maybe we should look into that sometime?" Morgana said.
"Well… I'm not entirely sure how my stuff works." Ren said.
'Well, I know it's based on my persona, but not how it is able to be used outside of the metaverse…' Ren thought to himself as Hubert placed a hand on his chin in thought.
"Persona's are your will of rebellion given form, so maybe it's your willpower?" Morgana guessed.
"Well, compared to the normal method of casting, your magic doesn't seem to affect the air around it. It's simply there, unlike with ours and how the air becomes charged when we cast." Hubert noted, casting a narrowed glance at Ren.
"Alright. As interesting as I imagine a lot of you believe Ren to be, let's move onto the meat of today's excursion." Byleth began, moving things back on track. "If you haven't already, grab the weapon you're most comfortable with. If you specialize in magic, stand by while everyone else gets ready."
"Okay, I get that… Byleth has your class doing basic exercises, but why are you back here just watching silently?" Morgana asked, looking up at Ren from his seat on a nearby chair.
"...Trying to find the ones who stick out." Ren said, glancing over the students.
"What for?" Morgana tilted his head, before glancing over at the students. "And define… sticking out."
"Well, take Caspar over there for instance." Ren began, pointing over towards the blue haired teen wielding the axe. "He's throwing himself into this like a fish out of water, he's enthusiastic about this and it shows. That sorta attitude… isn't what I'm looking for."
"Then what is?" Morgana asked.
Ren paused, glancing over the students gathered in the training arena before he caught sight of one standing nervously off to the side. "That. Morgana, come with me." The Thief said, making his way towards the purple haired teen who was standing a bit aways from the rest of her classmates. "Bernadetta, correct?"
"Ah!" Bernadetta swerved to face Ren. There was a look of her face, one he recognized as fear, as mild as it was. "U-um can I h-help you Professor?"
"Jeez, it's like pre-palace Futaba…" Morgana said, looking up at the girl as he walked up next to Ren. "What is she so jumpy for?"
Bernadetta jumped slightly at the meowing sound she no doubt heard from Morgana, looking down at him quickly. "If you want, you can pet him." Ren said, motioning to the cat.
"C-can I?" She asked, before looking down at Morgana.
"Joker… I didn't exactly sign up for this." Morgana said, glancing at him.
Ren gave the cat his best "deal with it" face. Morgana huffed, before moving towards Bernadetta as the girl crouched down and began to pet the cat. Morgana's quietude quickly shifted as he began purring under the attention the girl was giving him. Ren eyed the bow she placed down next to her, crouching down to pick it up as he looked over it. "You're an archer?" He asked, looking at the bow instead of his student.
"Um, yeah… I, don't really like… fighting, and the further I can be from it the… better." Bernadetta said, taking some amount of solace from the cat she was currently distracting herself with.
"...Hm." Ren hummed to himself, before glancing at the archery target that was assigned to Bernadetta. It was clean of arrows at the moment, and he spotted a few noticeable holes positioned quite close to the center. "Bernadetta, if we're being honest here, what would you rather be doing right now?"
"Be back in my dorm room…" The words slipped out of her mouth as she paused her petting to look up at her professor. "Um… w-why exactly-?"
"Here." Ren handed her bow back to her. "Now, I want you to do something for me. You see your target?"
"Yes…?" Bernadetta nodded, slowly standing up.
"I want you to stand about this distance away from your target. Try to hit three arrows in the center radius." Ren said, pointing to her current spot a few feet back from where she was supposed to be firing from.
"E-eh!? But, that's a lot further than I-I'm used to!" Bernadetta squeaked out, looking at him nervously.
"Well… You were the one who said they wanted to stay as far away from the fighting as possible. I figured this would be a good way to practice your ability to judge your shots at long distances." The Thief turned Professor said, glancing over at the target. "Now, want to make a deal?"
"H-huh?"
"If you can make all three of those center shots from this point here, I'll let you go for the rest of today's classes." Ren said, before he tilted his head towards Bernadetta. "That work for you?"
There was the sudden sound of something cutting through the air to his right, before an arrow struck center in Bernadetta's target, followed quickly by two more tightly grouped alongside it. He paused, before glancing back to Bernadetta as the girl lowered her bow. "Wow..."
"Jeez! She sure got serious fast! I barely noticed her draw an arrow!" Morgana said, staring at the girl in shock.
Ren paused, glancing around to notice a few other students had taken notice of the feat Bernadetta had just pulled off, Byleth among them. "Well, a deal's a deal. Good job."
"T-thanks…?" Bernadetta rubbed her arm, looking very put off with all the attention coming her way.
"I don't know if you'll get in trouble if I just let you go off on your own, so do you want me to accompany you to your dorm? That way if we run into someone like Seteth it won't seem like you're skipping class." Ren said, his voice calm and patient.
"U-um… sure, thanks." The archer nodded
"Alright, one sec." Ren turned around and looked at Byleth. "Byleth, I'll be back in a few minutes!"
"Understood." Byleth called back, before making way to go over a few alterations to Ferdinand's stance.
"Right, shall we?" Ren asked, motioning for Bernadetta to lead the way.
If he had to admit it, Ren would've said it felt strange. It was nostalgic, walking with Bernadetta. The girl seemed ready to fold in on herself if someone looked at her funny. If it wasn't for the fact she was currently holding onto Morgana as if he was a safety blanket, Ren wouldn't have been surprised if she had just made a beeline to her dorm and not cared how it looked in the moment.
The whole experience so far really was not that dissimilar to how it had been with Futaba.
The first week once she had woken up after her change of heart, that was a lot of effort he made to help his Navigator grow comfortable with the rest of the Thieves. And then there were their excursions to Akihabara at Futaba's request. Those were really what this feeling had come from.
It wasn't the same though, and he knew why. Unlike Futaba, who seemed to gravitate to him for protection after her change of heart, Bernadetta didn't know him. To her, Ren was just her new professor. One her age that also happened to have a very cute and fluffy cat, but otherwise just as much of a stranger to her as the rest of the monastery's inhabitants had been for Ren.
"So… If it's not rude of me to ask, why did you come to the Officer's Academy?" Ren asked as they walked, trying to fill in the silence. Bernadetta rubbed her hands together.
"I…" Bernadetta paused, before tightening her grip around Morgana.
"Bad call Joker, Bad call! I can't breathe!"
"Ah, nevermind. I shouldn't have pried." Ren said, rubbing the back of his head. "You… may want to lighten your hold a bit. I don't think Morgana's getting much air right now."
"Ah! Sorry!" Bernadetta lessened her hold on the cat. "Oh… Come on Bernie…"
"Air! Sweet air! How I've missed you!" Morgana gasped.
"You've been through worse, calm down." Ren muttered to his partner in crime while Bernadetta was lost in her own thoughts. "You know, you remind me of someone."
"Huh?" Bernadetta turned to look at Ren as the thief stared off into the distance.
"Her name was Futaba. She… well, had similar issues with people as you do. She's… kind of like my younger sister? At least, that's how I see her." Ren said, rubbing the back of his head. "Not by blood, but I was staying with her guardian for a year and we ended up bonding over the summer. She's gotten better since, she's not perfect at interacting with people, but she doesn't freeze while in crowds on her own anymore…"
Ren shoved his hands into his pockets. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… I get what you're going through. I can't say I can personally relate, but I do understand it." He paused when Bernadetta turned to face one of the dorm rooms. "So basically, and I apologize if this comes off… weird or strong, is that if you ever need… someone to talk to about things or anything? My door's always open."
Ren paused as he turned to look at the building a few dorms down that was his current residence. "Though… it might be a bit cluttered at the moment."
"...I… Thank you for this, Professor." Bernadetta said, quickly opening the door to her dorm and slipping inside before the door closed behind her.
"...Just, keep what I said in mind, yeah?" Ren asked, staring at the door.
"...I'll… try to."
"Then it's a deal." Ren uttered to himself, before the familiar pressure washed over him.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Hermit Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
{RANK UP!}
Another blue arcana card appeared before him, accompanied by the shattering of chains. He smiled, looking at Card depicting the Hermit Arcana. 'Just like Futaba.' He thought to himself, before his vision returned to normal. He let out a breath, turning to walk back towards the training grounds before he paused. "Wait, she never let go of Morgana…"
As if the words triggered an event from one of Futaba's RPGs, the door to Bernadetta's dorm opened again ever so slightly, allowing Morgana the room to run out and over to Ren.
"You have that look on your face." Morgana said, looking up at Ren. "Another Confidant?"
"The Hermit." Ren whispered as Morgana hopped onto his shoulder. "I did bring up the new Confidant thing, right?"
"You did, just figured I'd confirm." Morgana said. "Now hurry up, we're burning daylight."
If there was something the two thieves were expecting to see when they came back, it wasn't Linhardt pumping Caspar full of magic. Ren blinked, watching as Linhardt stood up from his spot and shook his hands.
"There. You're fine." Linhardt said to his friend. "A word of advice. Maybe next time you should make sure your practice axe isn't accident prone before swinging it like you did."
Caspar groaned. "How was I supposed to know it was gonna snap like it did? And I certainly didn't plan on getting hit by the broken part!"
"Everything alright over here?" Ren asked, walking over to his students. He took notice of the broken axe lying nearby, the shift of the weapon right under the blade has snapped, and not cleanly. The actual edge of the axe was metal, but was no doubt heavily dulled so as to not leave permanent damage.
"Ah, Professor. Just a weapons malfunction." Linhardt replied, waving lazily at Ren.
"Yeah! Linhardt's magic fixed me up right good." Caspar said, standing up.
"Your magic? Oh right, Hubert said you specialized in healing magic, right?" Ren asked, glancing over at Linhardt.
"Yes, that's correct." Linhardt confirmed, nodding at his professor.
"That's a good skill set. It's always good to have a healer to rely on." Ren said, gaining a nod of agreement from the cat on his shoulder.
"Hm… Joker, you'll thank me later for this." Morgana said, before he quickly brought his front paw up and scratched the left side of Ren's cheek with his paw, cutting deep enough to draw blood.
"Ow! Morgana!" Ren exclaimed as the cat jumped off his shoulder. "What was that for!?"
"Trust me! Now, is he gonna heal that or not?" Morgana asked, looking over at Linhardt.
"Professor! You feeling okay there?" Caspar asked, looking at the wound on the Thief's face with a wince.
"My trust is more damaged than anything else really." Ren said, giving a light glare at Morgana.
"Why did…?" Linhardt muttered to himself, looking at the cat with a thoughtful expression before he glanced back at Ren. "Oh well. Professor, come here for a moment. I'll take care of that."
"Hm?" Ren raised an eyebrow but complied, taking a step towards Linhardt.
"Alright then." Linhardt said, holding a hand out towards Ren. Ren felt a shift in the air as Linhardt began to channel his magic, quickly moving the gathered energy into Ren's body in a green light.
Then, as all of this was happening, there was a sudden spike from Linhardt, as the magic around him seemed to saturate the air more heavily. Ren's eyes caught sight of the sudden flash of a symbol behind Linhardt as the healing magic was swiftly boosted.
The claw marks on Ren's face dissipated, as did the symbol that had materialized behind Linhardt, leaving behind smooth skin as the atmosphere of the air returned to normal.
"Well, that was… what WAS that?" Ren asked, looking at Linhardt. He paused, stretching slightly. "My muscle fatigue is gone as well…"
"That was just a low level healing spell of mine." Linhardt said with a shrug. "Though in the future, I'd rather you not order your cat to injure you so you can get a feeling of my abilities."
"Well, he's smart." Morgana noted, hoping back up onto Ren's shoulder.
"I'll… keep that in mind." Ren said, nodding. "But… what was that symbol that flashed behind you while you were healing me?"
"Ah, my Crest?" Linhardt asked.
"That's a Crest?" Ren asked in surprise.
Morgana groaned. "What even is a Crest?"
"I assume you're unfamiliar with the subject?" Linhardt noted. "Well, Professor Hanneman would be better suited to teaching you about it. He is, after all, a Crest Scholar."
"Might not hurt to broach the subject with this other professor when we have the chance." Morgana said.
"I think I'll do that when I get a chance." Ren said, nodding at Linhardt.
"Well, I'm gonna get back to training. I think Professor Eisner is moving us onto practice spars now." Caspar said, walking away from the conversation.
"Well, before we go do that, I am curious about something." Ren said, placing his hands in his pockets. "Hubert said earlier that your white mage stuff runs off your Faith, right? In what way exactly?"
"Well, that's a bit more complex. I'd start by saying Faith is not inherently tied to one's religious beliefs, but there are many who use it as a focus for their magic." Linhardt began. "As an example, someone could use their faith in their logic as a focus. Others, their faith in their allies. It's all relative to the person, but it must be derived from one's faith in an ideal."
"Hm… Interesting." Ren said, placing a hand over his chin.
"Hm, well, I suppose I'm curious as well now. I saw you perform your magic earlier and it's rather fascinating." Linhardt began, placing a hand on his hip. "I was wondering if you'd be open to an… exchange of sorts. I'm sure you're still curious about how my magic works, past the bare bones explanation I've given you. And I'd quite like a chance to understand how you perform your magic as well. I don't suppose you'd be open to an exchange of information when we'd have the time for it?"
Ren placed a hand on his chin in thought. It wasn't a long thought, as he almost immediately pulled his hand down and extended it to Linhardt. "That sounds like a great idea."
"That's great to hear." Linhardt said, shaking Ren's hand. "I've been meaning to find a new topic of research."
Time once again slowed down, as Lavensa's voice echoed in his ears.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Fortune Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
The snapping of chains filled the air as the blue arcana card for the Fortune drifted in front of the thief.
{RANK UP!}
[Joker can now study magic with Linhardt! Faith, Reason or Will attributes will grow after each lesson depending on the outcome of each session.]
Time resumed to its normal flow as the handshake ended. "I assume you'll come to me when you have a free moment to go over all of this." Linhardt said, before glancing over at the group that was now beginning to form near Byleth. "For now, I believe it best we return to the rest of the class."
Morgana hopped back onto Ren's shoulder as Linhardt walked away. "See? What'd I tell you."
"In the future, warn me before you do something like that again." Ren said, shaking his head before petting his cat as he rejoined the main group.
"Any thoughts so far on your initial picks?" Byleth asked Ren as the two watched Edelgard clash with Ferdinand in the ring.
"For the mock battle?" Ren asked, watching as the Imperial Princess expertly ducked out of the way of one of Ferdinand's strikes. Byleth gave a quick hum of acknowledgement in response. "...Due to the fact the two of us are filling in for the slot of one professor, we unfortunately are down a slot that would've gone to one of our students. And considering Edelgard is automatically included in the mock battle because she's the house leader…"
"That leaves us with 2 positions that need to be filled." Byleth concluded.
"And considering the three of us that are required to be there are mostly combat oriented… I say we choose the latter 2 on support." Ren said, crossing his arms. "If I had to pick now… I'd want the roles filled by a healer and an archer. That way we have someone to keep our guys in the fight, and someone to provide covering fire if needed. Or to just take out the enemy archers first…"
"You do know two people in this house that fit the bill, you know." Morgana said, looking at Ren.
"...Linhardt, and Bernadetta." Ren said, crossing his arms.
"Hm. Linhardt is a very proficient healer, but I'm not sure about Bernadetta. She's been absent for most of the day after all." Byleth noted. "Though, she did make a good show before she left."
"Ah, in that case, I had basically said that if she could hit three arrows dead center, I'd excuse her from classes for the rest of the day." Ren said with a shrug. "And before you say anything, I don't believe we would've seen her do anything that well if I hadn't given her the incentive."
"Hm… Well, at the very least we'll have more information to work with tomorrow." Byleth said, watching as Edelgard knocked Ferdinand onto his back. "We start judging their ability to work together then, right?"
"Right." Ren said, glancing out at the arena as Byleth moved up to call the match. The thief sighed, before pulling out a brown book and flipping to a clear page. Ren glanced to the left, making note of the date written on the top.
Dec 24th
"This is gonna look weird to anyone else I guess…" Ren muttered, before pulling out a pen. "...I should write about this."
4/24
"So, does that mean you've been here for four months now?" Morgana asked, peering over Ren's shoulder to look at the diary in the teen's hand. "How'd that happen? I haven't even been here a week yet."
"No, it's the same for me too." Ren said as he started writing. "About 5 days or so if I recall right."
"Hey, maybe make a note of all that's happened since our arrival here. That way you don't need to pull me aside for another chat like you did earlier." Morgana said.
"Sure." Ren nodded, effortlessly flowing what he was currently writing about into the events leading up to today. "Luckily for us, I don't need to mince words here. Not like anyone can read Japanese here."
"Aside from us you mean." Morgana said, smirking.
"I figured that was a given." Ren said with a smirk, clicking his pen as he brought the book up a bit more to give Morgana a better look at the pages.
"...So… How are you handling it?" Morgana asked. "I know we've technically already dirtied our hands with the false god but…"
Ren sighed, closing his diary as he glanced out at the practice field. There was a silence that fell between the two broken only by the sounds of Petra and Caspar clashing weapons. Ren blinked, before narrowing his eyes in concentration as Petra ducked to the right as Caspar's axe swung down at where the girl had been standing moments earlier. "I know these are just wood, but it still feels unsafe." He muttered to himself as the fight continued in front of him.
"...It's not like it's the first time I've felt this." Ren said after a moment. "Even if it wasn't our hand who did it… Okumura suffered a mental shutdown and died. It's… a lot like the first week after our trip to Destiny Land… When the world thought we were responsible for his death. Best I could really do then was try and convince myself we weren't at fault for it and to move on."
Ren sighed. "But it's different now. Unlike with Yaldabaoth, it wasn't some… false god trying to destroy humanity's free will… It was just some… bandits that were after my life…" He continued, before shrugging. "The only thing I really can do now is to just… accept it and try not to dwell on it. I'll never forget what that felt like though. If I stop feeling remorse… that's when I lose sight of both myself, and everything all of us stood for."
"...Well said." Morgana said after a moment. "And hey, considering your position, I doubt you'll find yourself in that situation again."
"Here's to hoping." Ren said, slipping his diary into his coat pocket as he stood up.
"Hey, I'll wait here while you go talk with her." Morgana said, hopping off Ren's shoulder. "Figure it best I don't interrupt anything."
"Got it." Ren said, giving a nod towards his partner as he walked over towards Byleth.
"Classes are almost done for the day." Byleth noted, glancing over at Ren. "What were your thoughts on the students so far?"
"...There's a lot of potential." Ren said. "It's good there's a variety to them, and that will work to their advantage, but we still need to see how well they operate as a whole."
"Then tomorrow will be when we find out how well they work together." Byleth said. "By the way, Hanneman wanted to speak to you in his office once we're finished with classes."
"Hm? When did you get the chance to speak with him?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Earlier today before I went to get you. It wasn't long, but he seemed a little insistent." Byleth said, before raising a hand to call the current fight. "Alright. Petra, Caspar, that's enough."
Weapons were lowered as the two students engaged in combat relaxed. "That's it for today?" Caspar asked, turning to look at his Professors.
"Tomorrow we'll be meeting up in the classroom before moving to the forest outside of Garreg Mach to continue with training." Byleth continued. "The mock battle is closing in on us and I will make sure we won't end up in an engagement that we can't change to our advantage."
"It's probably best to let you know in advance what we're planning to focus on tomorrow." Ren said, glancing over at Byleth. At the nod of approval from Byleth the thief continued. "We're going to be using the day as a way of judging how well you work together. Either individually in pairs, or as a whole group. But, enough about tomorrow. You all did excellently today. You're free to go."
Ren let out a breath as he watched his students move to the side and hand their practice weapons to some of the now emerging monastery staff members. "Any reason we're using a forest tomorrow?"
"The other professors, Manuela and Hanneman, said we had free reign of the Practice arena today since we're still new. I believe Manuela has this place reserved for the Golden Deer tomorrow." Byleth noted, placing a hand on her chin. "And if I get the all clear, we might be able to have some of our Mercs help with the lesson. It would do well for our students to fight in a simulated encounter with experienced soldiers."
"Sounds good to me. What are we doing about the remaining four days we have to teach our students?" Ren asked, glancing over at Byleth. "Because I have a suggestion."
"Let's hear it." Byleth said, turning to face Ren.
"Aside from the day just before the mock battle, let's each have one day to work with them on our own. Doesn't matter what topic, just one that we think they need to work on. I know you'd be able to teach them things I wouldn't have the first idea on how to broach. I also know that there are some things I'm much better suited to teach them."
"Like what?" Byleth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, the current thought was how to use their surroundings. Though with a focus more on evasion, and via extension, how to find someone trying to evade in such tactics. I was thinking of checking if the forest we would be using for the team exercises would work while we were out tomorrow. Aside from that, I need to see if I can get my hands on something. If I can, then I might have something that I'll be able to carry over into the year as a sort of… aspect of one of my solo periods."
"Hm… In that case, I think that will work fine." Byleth said, nodding once. She paused and glanced over at the practice arena as the last of their students left the building. "...You're surprisingly well suited to this."
"Hm?"
"Earlier, with Bernadetta. You did a good job with her. I don't think I'd have had nearly as much interaction with her as you have." Byleth noted. "I noticed she was hiding her face whenever I was looking in her direction. I expected reactions like that when we were told what we'd be doing but…"
"...Hey, just give it some time." Ren said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "The students will all come around in time. Most already have, after our rescue of Edelgard. Bernadetta and some of our other students that are a bit wary will stop being so once they get to know you like I do."
"...I didn't make any connections while I was a mercenary…" The swordswoman said after a pause. "In that line of work… It's better not to get overly attached with anyone, since your next mission could be the last one you do with them…"
"You did with me though?" Ren said, raising an eyebrow at Byleth.
"...There was something about you that pushed me to try and connect with you. I'm not sure what it was. But I see now that I am sorely lacking when it comes to knowing how to make bonds…" Byleth continued.
"Hey, no one's perfect." Ren said, taking his hand off her shoulder. "Plus, you've been doing a good job with me. Just… Try not to distance yourself from them. You're not just a soldier on the field now. You're their teacher. If they can't confide in you about what troubles them, they aren't going to be able to learn properly. It's not easy, but there's… always something you can do to help them."
"I see. Ren, thank you. It won't be easy, but I'm certain that I'll eventually get it down." Byleth said, nodding once more at Ren.
"Hey, until then, I'm here with you all the way." Ren said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he smirked. There was a feeling inside of him, one he recognized from back in Tokyo. 'My bond with her… It's getting stronger.'
As the thought passed through his mind, time seemed to slow to a crawl and his vision darkened. Ebony chains snapped and flung out over his vision, bursting away from the blue card that represented his bond with Byleth.
{RANK UP!}
[You're Temperance Arcana has increased to Rank 2!]
[You will now earn a Stat increase in a randomly chosen stat from Arcana Boost when fusing Personas of the Temperance Arcana!]
"That's new…" Ren muttered to himself as his vision returned to normal.
"Well, I suppose we'll be parting ways for now." Byleth said, turning away from the thief as she walked towards the entrance. "We can decide what days we're going to be handling solo tomorrow once the lesson is done. I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you." Ren said, turning back to Morgana as the cat walked over to him. "Okay, one more stop then we're heading back to my place."
"Great. At least we'll have some decent privacy to talk there…" Morgana said, hopping onto Ren's arm. "Hey, next time, bring your bag. That way I'll actually have somewhere to go instead of clutching your shoulder."
"I'll keep that in mind." Ren said with a smile as he walked out of the practice arena with Morgana.
"Ah, if it isn't our new Professor! I assume you heard about my request from Professor Eisner?" Hanneman asked as Ren walked into the scholar's office. "Is… that a cat on your shoulder?"
"Yeah, this is Morgana." Ren said, motioning to his partner. "He won't cause any trouble, I promise. If you'd rather he not be in here when we're doing… this," Ren motioned to the room in general. "Then I can send him out for a bit."
"Well, it would be better if we eliminated the possibility of cat hair getting into the scanner." Hanneman noted, putting a hand to his chin.
"That's fine. Morgana?" Ren asked, looking over at the cat.
"I'll go wander around for a bit. I'll see you by the student dorms when you're done here." Morgan said, before hopping off Ren's shoulder into the hallway.
"Well, he's certainly well trained." The Crest Scholar said, looking over at the doorway Morgana had just walked out of.
"Yeah. I've had him for a while. We got separated a little bit ago, so I can only assume he was picked up by some… travelers or something and brought here." Ren said, weaving up a believable enough lie. "Anyways, you said something to Byleth about checking me for a crest…?"
"Well, yes. I won't lie, I was asked by Seteth earlier today to do a test." Hanneman said, moving over to a strange device on the other side of the room.
"Seteth?" Ren asked as his body tensed. 'That's not a good sign.'
"I wouldn't be too concerned. The man tends to be a bit wary when someone new finds their way to the monastery, especially in the manner you did." Hanneman shrugged. "I wouldn't judge him for it though, his position here at the monastery doesn't give him many opportunities to put his guard down. I expect that by… midway through the Harpstring Moon he'll at least be able to put aside any adverse feelings he may have. "
Ren breathed out. "Fair enough then… What am I doing?"
"Hmm… Might be better if we take a blood sample. I'd rather not accidentally contaminate the sample with some cat hair you might have on you." Hanneman said. "Here, hold out your hand. It'll just be a quick prick."
Ren raised his ungloved hand up in front of him, before extending it to Hanneman. "Here you go."
"Excellent, now…" Hanneman began, before poking Ren's index finger with a small metal needle. He brought out a small glass pane and wiped the blood onto it before handing a small cotton ball to the teen. "Apply pressure to the area, it should stop bleeding in a minute or two."
Ren nodded, pressing the cotton ball against his finger as he watched Hanneman set up the machine. 'Either most of the setup was done before I got here or there's not a lot of prepwork that needs to be done.' Ren thought to himself as he watched Hanneman slot the blood sample into the machine.
"Now, if I just flip this switch then…" Hanneman trailed off, reaching towards the side of the machine before activating it. "Alright then. If you do possess a crest, the machine will project it out above it. Similarly to how crests manifest sometimes when doing specific actions."
'I don't think I have anything to really worry about… I shouldn't have a crest since I'm not from this world… And considering that earlier Hanneman said something about checking to see if I had one, I can also assume it won't be a bad thing if I come up empty.' Ren thought to himself as he stared the machine down. 'That said…'
There was a sudden flash of light from the projector, as the two Professors in the room paused in surprise as a symbol began to form in the air. The light of the projector shifted to a blue tint as the symbol fully materialized in the air.
A stylized V hung in the air, surrounded by outlines of different mask-like shapes. Ren felt a strong tug in his being at the sight of it, before it eased off as the symbol faded from view.
"What happened?" Ren asked, looking over at Hanneman.
"This is astounding… I've never seen anything like it!" The man said, eyes lingering where the projection had been before they turned to look at Ren. "I've never seen a Crest like that! To think, we're on the cusp of a brand new discovery!"
"So… should I be worried by that?" The Phantom Thief asked, looking over at Hanneman.
"Goodness no! Well, actually… it might be better for now to keep this between the two of us." Hanneman corrected himself. "I'm not sure how knowledgeable you are on the subject, but excluding the major discovery of Crests all those years ago, we haven't truly found a new Crest like yours. While normally I'd say that we should inform the Archbishop, and by extension Seteth, I do not believe that will be as suitable here."
Ren mentally kicked himself for asking and not just agreeing with the man, but he asked anyway. "Why not?"
"Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed it yourself yet, but foreigners aren't normally seen in that great of a light in Fódlan." Hanneman said. "While it's not as prominent here, there are still some who might be… how to say, put off, by your presence here at Garreg Mach. If we revealed this information now… I'm not entirely sure how they'd react."
"So for now it'd just be better if we left it as is?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow behind his false glasses.
"No entirely. You still possess a completely undocumented Crest, and that has lit a spark in my researching heart." Hanneman began. "So, I'd like to ask that you join me whenever you get the chance so I might be able to do some tests. In exchange, I'd be more than happy to share any of the knowledge I've collected regarding Crests or anything else that might interest you."
"...Alright, sounds like a plan." Ren said, extending a hand to Hanneman as the two shook.
The familiar birth of a new Confidant erupted inside of Ren, as the flow of time slowed down alongside the interjection of Lavenza's voice.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Priest Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
"Priest?" Ren muttered to himself in confusion. "That's new…"
{RANK UP!}
[Whenever you partake in a seminar from Hanneman, your understanding of whatever subject the Professor is teaching will increase by 25%]
"Interesting…" Ren muttered to himself as time returned to its natural flow.
"Indeed!" Hanneman chuckled. "For now though, I should try and sketch down that Crest while it's still fresh in my mind. Until next time then?"
"Yeah, I'll see you around." Ren said, waving as he walked out of the room.
"Finally. So, how'd it go?" Morgana asked as Ren walked out into the courtyard.
"Well enough. Turns out, I have a Crest… or something like one. Hanneman's never seen one like mine so he recommended we keep it on the down low for now." Ren said, crouching down so Morgana could hop onto his shoulder.
"Probably for the best. The less unnecessary attention we have, the better." Morgana nodded to himself. "So, where are we staying?"
"Over here. It's a… bit dusty on the lower floor and it needs some work, but I have an idea of what we can do with the place." Ren smiled, walking past a few students from the other houses before coming to a stop in front of the large building he had been given as his residence. "Here we are."
"Hm, not too bad. Could do with some decor, but otherwise." Morgana said.
Ren moved forwards and pushed the door open, allowing light to shine in to illuminate the dusty interior. "You weren't kidding about the dust." Morgana said, jumping onto one of the wood crates lining the ground floor.
"Told you." Ren said, closing the door behind him.
"Hm… There's a lot of cleanup needed to be taken care of here…" Morgana noted, glancing around the room. "So, what's the plan, Joker?"
"...I'm gonna turn this place into Leblanc. Or at least… however close I can get to that." Ren said, glancing around the room. "The layout is almost exactly the same, so it's just a matter of cleaning up and organizing the ground floor, and finding everything I'd need to turn this into a functioning cafe."
"I don't think you're really going to have enough time to both teach a class and run a cafe, Ren…" Morgana said.
"Of course I won't. I never said I'd be opening this publicly." Ren said with a chuckle. "I might decide to open the place up if some students want a place to study that's not the library, but for now it's just a thought. That said, I do want to get this place done before the mock battle at the end of the month."
"Well then, you have 5 days before that deadline then." Morgana said. "That said, let's try and get most of this place cleaned for now."
Ren smirked, tugging on his gloved hand. "Reminds me of the first night you came back to Leblanc with me. Didn't let me sleep until the room was almost entirely dust free." Ren said with a chuckle. "Of course now it's always 'go to sleep' everything I try and stay up that late."
"Hey, your sleep is important! I can only imagine how screwed up your schedule is without my proper guidance!" Morgana snapped back.
There was a pause of silence before the two Phantom Thieves laughed. "...Welcome home, Morgana."
"Good to be back, Joker."