"Looks like it's time for the mock battle. Are you ready Professor?" Rhajat asked.
"I'm looking forward to it." Byleth answered.
"Good, we'll need you to win."
Rhajat wasn't the biggest fan of work like this, but she was hopeful that this would at least be a good learning experience. "Assuming we win, this'll also be a good chance to show off just how powerful we are, and that we aren't to be trifled with."
As if on cue, the other house leaders entered. Claude spoke up first. "Hey there! Did we miss our invite to this strategy meeting? Oh, no worries-we'll just join in now."
Rhajat rolled her eyes. "You wish. As if we'd be that careless."
Edelgard spoke up next. "Good, so you won't go down too quickly."
"I've been looking forward to facing you three in combat." Dimitri admitted. "Our fight against the bandits and faceless have proven how strong you all are."
Rhajat flinched a bit at his statement. She didn't particularly like thinking about it. "Don't remind me..."
Dimitri bowed. "Ah sorry, I meant no harm, truly. I just meant that everyone performed well there."
"You're just trying to throw her off huh?" Claude teased. "Looks like I'm not the only schemer around here."
Dimitri glared at him. "Enough Claude, you know that's not true."
"Regardless, you all shouldn't let these things get under your skin. Otherwise you'll fail. Remember during this year we'll be going up against real threats. Even if it's just a mock battle, don't let your guard down." Edelgard explained.
"I don't intend to lose." Byleth told Edelgard.
Manuela, along with Jeritza and Hannerman, walked in as well. "Aw how precious. Looks like you and the students have become fast friends."
"While I am pleased that you are taking the initiative to acquaint yourself with the students, I'm afraid it's about time for the faculty strategy meeting." Hannerman reminded.
"Yes. Let us go." Jeritza added.
"I'm sorry, Professors. It's about time I returned to my training anyway. Claude. Edelgard. Rhajat. Until we meet again on the battlefield, farewell." Dimitri said before leaving.
"Ah, how time flies! In that case, I'll see you later." Claude said.
"I look forward to assessing your abilities. I hope you don't disappoint." Edelgard said as well.
Everyone dispersed, leaving Rhajat by herself. "I won't let you all down... No way in hell..." She mumbled to herself.
The 4 classes stood in the field, waiting to begin.
"Professor, who will be deciding our team for this match?" Rhajat asked.
"I think I'll leave it to you." Byleth said calmly. "I'm sure you'll choose wisely."
Rhajat blushed. "Hmph." She wasn't sure why Byleth seemed to put so much faith in her. Pushing the thought aside, she thought about the seven remaining students in her house, and who'd be best to bring. It didn't help that she had no idea who the other houses were bringing. Even if she didn't really know anyone too well, she only really had substantial interaction with the other house leaders. She did at least know how they fought, however they knew how she fought too, so she wasn't sure if that meant much. Edelgard and Dimitri were more close range fighters with a lot of power, whereas Claude could attack from a distance with his bow.
"Corrin is pretty versatile, so I think it'd make sense to bring her." Rhajat explained.
Byleth nodded.
"It's probably best to have a lance too... so I'm thinking Shiro as well. Lastly, we should take Velouria for general power."
"Makes sense to me."
"Aww, I wanted to fight too..." Selkie mumbled.
"Maybe next time." Shiro put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm looking forward to this though! Especially fighting that Dimitri!"
Velouria yawned. "Do I have to...?"
"Come on Velouria, we can do this." Corrin reassured.
"Oh, I know we can. I just don't want to." Velouria explained.
"I... see..."
"Alright, let's go Dragons." Byleth said as she led her students forward. On their right were the blue lions. Consisting of Dimitri, Dedue, Ashe, Mercedes, and Manuela. In front of them were the Black Eagles, who had Jeritza, Edelgard, Hubert, Ferdinand, and Dorothea. Lastly, in front of the Dragons were the Golden Deer, consisting of Hannerman, Claude, Hilda, Lorenz, and Ignatz. Rhajat didn't know everyone here. Though she did recognize Dorothea as the woman who's cooking she insulted. And now she had to fight her. She wasn't fond of the incoming awkwardness, but there was not much she could do about it.
"Alright Professor. Do not disappoint me." Rhajat said.
The blade breaker Jeralt suddenly spoke up. Rhajat didn't even notice him. "I'm sure you already understand, but the house that defeats the other three is declared the winner. Incidentally, I'll be overseeing this mock battle. So listen well if you want to win. With four houses, you should pick one to fight, let the other two fight each other. I'd start with the Lions since they're the closest."
"Let's go Dragons."
The Dragons all followed Byleth as they marched towards the Lions. The Lions marched towards them in turn. On the other side of the field, the Deer and Eagles were about to engage in combat as well. Dimitri was the first to attack, He stabbed at Rhajat, as his crest triggered. Rhajat was nearly knocked out by this one attack. She glared at Dimitri and retaliated with a fireball. Dimitri managed to stop the fire ball by slicing at it. Rhajat was wishing they brought along Forrest now. "Ugh, why did they trust me...?" She thought to herself.
A fire ball came from behind Rhajat, surprising both of them. Dimitri flew backwards, and the culprit Corrin, threw a vulnerary at Rhajat. "Drink up!"
Rhajat quickly drank it, suddenly feeling revitalized. "Thanks..."
Manuela ran up and healed Dimitri. Byleth leapt into the air and sliced her sword at her. Manuela quickly dodged it, and ran up to Byleth with her own sword. Despite Byleth's strength, Manuela was rather skilled herself, and could match her. Velouria transformed and charged at Dimitri, but her attack was blocked by Dedue. Dedue then swung his axe at her, which she blocked with her arm. She sliced her claws at him, which Dedue managed to tank.
Ashe fired an arrow at Velouria, which hit her arm. She took it out and charged at Ashe. Ashe managed to dodge, then fired another arrow at her, which hit. Her being a large target made that easy. Shiro stabbed his spear at Dimitri with a grin on his face. Dimitri blocked it, and replied with a smile of his own. Shiro hit Dimitri's head with the butt of his lance, dazing him momentarily. Rhajat and Corrin followed up with magic, nearly defeating him. Mercedes then healed him with ease.
"Damn... having two healers is gonna make this hard." Rhajat mused. "Professor has one of them occupied, we should take out Mercedes!"
Corrin nodded and ran towards Mercedes. She fired her bow at Corrin, but she barely felt it. Corrin sliced her sword at Mercedes, weakening her greatly. She sliced again, knocking her down.
"Oh no... This is as far as I can go..." she said sadly.
Byleth was still in combat with Manuela. Manuela used a fire spell to stun Byleth, then sliced her sword at her side. Byleth responded with a slice of her own, then a kick.
Manuela was next to fall. "Well done. I nearly wound up a patient in my own infirmary."
With only three to go, and no healers, things were looking up for the Dragons. Velouria was starting to get worn down by the arrows. Rhajat fired magic at Ashe, who took the blow. Corrin then sent a fire ball after him as well, knocking him out.
"Ah-so strong! Have to do better next time..."
"You okay Velouria?" Rhajat asked.
"I wanna quit..." Velouria replied.
"If you can keep going, keep going Velouria." Byleth said encouragingly. Shiro was still fighting Dimitri and Dedue. Rhajat and Corrin looked at each other and nodded, before sending more magic Dedue's way. He was knocked out rather quickly.
"Ngh. Apologies, Your Highness. I can go no further."
All that was left was Dimitri. Shiro stabbed at him, which he was too slow to dodge. With a slice from Byleth, he was done as well. "I suppose that does it for the Blue Lion House..."
"The Blue Lions and Golden Deer are down!" Jeralt exclaimed.
"We have to take on Edelgard's class then." Byleth said. Upon looking at them, they were tired, but were all still there. The deer seemingly put up a good fight.
"Okay, charge everyone." Byleth commanded.
The 4 other dragons did as told, with Byleth in front. Their professor, Jeritza, easily forced them all back by swinging his spear.
"I'll handle him. He's strong. The rest of you take on the other students." Byleth told them.
"Right." Rhajat replied.
Byleth ran up to Jeritza, and dodged his spear stab. She sliced at his shoulder, then his torso. Jeritza stabbed Byleth's shoulder in turn. Byleth spun around and stabbed his arm.
"Those two are intense..." Corrin noted.
A fireball came towards Shiro, and Rhajat pushed him out of the way. Hubert had fired it. Edelgard nodded approvingly. "Excellent Hubert."
Ferdinand was first to run towards the dragons, and Shiro decided to take him on. The two clashed spears, and Corrin ran in to help. Edelgard looked towards Rhajat, and threw her axe at her. Rhajat ducked, and it flew harmlessly by her. Before she could do anything in retaliation, Hubert shot another spell at her, which hurt her more than she expected it to. Edelgard ran past Rhajat and picked up her axe, then swung it at the nearest Dragon who happened to be Velouria. Velouria grabbed the axe with one hand, then grabbed Edelgard with another. She headbutted her, and Hubert without missing a beat shot a spell at her. Corrin took the hit, nearly knocking her out. She managed to stay upright though.
Edelgard was still standing as well. Hubert ran to her side and healed her. Velouria ran towards Hubert and tackled him, and Rhajat finished him off with a spell.
"Hmm. Suppose I'll have to call it a day." Hubert said before retreating.
Velouria then slashed at Dorothea, soundly defeating her as well.
"My, my... You seem very capable." Dorothea said.
Byleth stabbed at Jeritza one last time, before defeating him. All that were left were Edelgard and Ferdinand. With the two of them drained, Byleth knew that they could practically push them over by blowing on them. "One last push everyone."
Shiro stabbed at Edelgard, before she could block, and Corrin sliced at Ferdinand. The two tried their best to stay up, but ended up falling as well.
"And the winner is... the Gray Dragon house!" Jeralt exclaimed with pride in his voice.
Rhajat almost fell over from how tired she was. She looked to her teammates and saw that they were exhausted, but were all still standing. Rhajat smiled softly, a bit surprised, but glad they were able to pull it off.
"And where do you think you're going Professor?" Rhajat asked ominously. "You... led us to victory. It's not normally my style, but I think we should celebrate."
Byleth turned around to see her entire class staring at her, each one of them smiling. "I'm invited?"
"Duh. We couldn't have done it without you." Rhajat answered.
"I agree!" Corrin added. "Plus I'd love to eat and chat with everyone."
"You're a hell of a leader Professor!" Shiro exclaimed. "You led us well, and put in a great effort yourself."
"I feel this is the start of something great Professor." Caeldori added. "We'll be safe in your hands."
"Yup yup!" Selkie said with a jump. "I can't wait to fight under you!"
"The whole class wants to eat with you. It'd be selfish to decline." Rhajat said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I'm starving! Don't keep us waiting long Professor!" Asugi walked off with a wave.
Forrest grinned. "There will be some delicious foods I'm sure."
"Yeah, who knows. Maybe even some treasure. Oh no, I can't let Asugi get to them first!" Velouria ran off, leading to everyone but Rhajat leaving with her.
"Well, you coming?" Rhajat asked. "I... don't like crowds. Or being around people too much. It's annoying. But you did something great today. And I think that deserves celebration."
"I wouldn't say I don't want to be around you guys. I guess I'm just not sure how to react." Byleth explained.
Rhajat nodded in understanding. "If a bunch of people came up to me like we did I might have gotten angry. So I see where you're coming from. But if you're okay with it, I'll see you there."
Rhajat walked away, and Byleth stood for a few seconds. "Hm, that Rhajat is nicer than she'd like to admit." She followed Rhajat to the cafeteria, ready to have a fun time with her students.
Rhajat was feeling a bit tired after the party. It was a bit much for an introvert like her, not to mention all the food. However, it was something she could get used to. They had been together for so long that the sun had begun to set. She had to admit, it was rather pretty. She liked it way more than dawn, but not as much as nighttime. On her way back to her room, she saw a familiar face. Or rather, a familiar hairstyle from behind. The girl, who she now knew as Dorothea, that she insulted. She figured now was as good a time as any to talk to her.
"Hey, you!" She said with a bit too much force.
Dorothea jumped a bit, and turned around looking slightly on edge. She saw who it was, and her expression turned into irritation. "...What?"
"Look uh... I... didn't mean any harm when I insulted you. I was being genuine. But uh... I can see that it bothered you so... sorry."
Her expression softened. "Oh. Um..."
"That's all I needed to say. Bye." Rhajat began to walk off.
"Wait, sorry I just wasn't sure how to respond to that." Dorothea admitted. "It's fine. I know my cooking isn't the best..."
"Yeah." Rhajat agreed.
"Okay don't rub it in..." Dorothea said with a pout.
"Glad we could work this out though. I have enough enemies, I'd hate to make more over something that was my fault." Rhajat replied non maliciously.
Dorothea raised an eyebrow. She found Rhajat a bit odd, but harmless. "I... see. Well don't worry. I'm not your enemy. In fact..." Dorothea walked closer to Rhajat. "You seem nice enough. Why not start over as friends?" She put her hand out.
Rhajat paused. She did just say that she doesn't need more enemies. "I... guess." Rhajat took her hand and shook it. She wasn't sure how she felt about this, but as much as she loathed to admit it, she wasn't going to complain about having more genuine friends.
"Hm." Dorothea looked like she was staring.
"What." Rhajat asked, somewhat defensively.
Dorothea giggled a bit. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking now that I see you up close, you're actually really pretty."
Rhajat's eyes widened as she started blushing. Rhajat was neutral on her appearance. She didn't find herself incredibly pretty, but she also didn't think she was ugly. She just was. So for someone to call her pretty took her by surprise.
Dorothea started laughing harder. "You're adorable aren't you?"
Rhajat glared at her. "I'm not."
Dorothea slowly stopped laughing. "Wasn't laughing at you, don't worry. It's a good thing to be adorable! For example, I'm gorgeous, and it's really helped me over the years."
"Adorable and pretty feel... different. Adorable feels patronizing. Like I'm not a threat." Rhajat explained.
"You want to be a threat?" Dorothea asked. "Hm... I can see the appeal in that." While she focused more on attracting people, the idea of keeping nobles she found annoying away from her was interesting too. She briefly considered if she could get a few tips about that from Rhajat.
"It's a good way of getting my alone time." Rhajat answered.
Dorothea nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I think everyone needs that from time to time."
Rhajat appreciated her alone time, there was no questioning that. She didn't mind interacting with people though. She just couldn't do it non stop for days. If that were to happen, she felt her head would explode. "You said it."
While Rhajat wasn't going to vocalize it, she had to admit that Dorothea was attractive. If she was in the Officer's Academy, she had to be more than just a pretty face. During the mock battle, she did fight competently. She didn't want the conversation to turn into a love fest, so she decided to keep that to herself as well. She was sure that Dorothea knew she was a good fighter considering how quick she was to compliment herself. Rhajat figured that she must have had great self-esteem.
"Speaking of alone time, you must want some huh? Sorry to keep you here Rhajat."
"I should yeah." Rhajat agreed. "It wasn't an awful conversation though."
Dorothea started laughing. "I'll take it. You're something else Rhajat. Well, I'll see you later." She walked away waving her fingers.
Rhajat on the other hand wasn't entirely sure what to make of Dorothea. But at the very least, it was pretty positive so far. Regardless, she was right that Rhajat was a bit tired after everything today. Both physically and mentally. She definitely needed some time to herself. She was glad at least that there were no hard feelings between her and Dorothea. She felt it was much too early in the year to become infamous. Rhajat yawned, as much as she would have liked to work on her magic or something, she didn't have the energy to do anything but sleep. Normally she wouldn't mind staying up a bit later than she should, but she was rather incapable of it at the moment. If she didn't get in her bed, she felt she'd probably fall asleep at her desk. She knew she had plenty of time at the very least to work on it later. She had an entire year ahead of her after all. She entered her room and laid down on her bed, almost immediately falling into a gentle sleep. It almost made her feel that working hard on things aside from her interests was worth it. She never had a hard time sleeping, but there was something nice about sleeping after a hard day's work. She could definitely get used to the idea of being at the Officer's Academy. She still had her anxieties, but she had no choice but to force her way past them. She knew she couldn't let anything get in her way. Even herself. She did miss her family, but she knew they'd be proud of her once she returned as a stronger woman.
