A/N: Because Dimitri isn't royalty in this universe, Dedue refers to him as 'my lord' instead of 'His Highness'. Anyway, on with the show!

The Three Houses of Hyperdimension

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

by Derald Snyder

Episode 11: Dimitri's Right Hand

*Greenhouse*

"Careful, Sothis, that water can's heavy," Alois cautioned as he watched the young girl wobbling slightly on the stool in front of a row of flowers.

"I've got it," Sothis shot back, tilting the can to shower the flowers with water. "See? No problem."

"Don't overwater the flowers," a stoic voice called. "It's not healthy for them."

"Okay-," Sothis grunted as she pulled the can back- only to start losing her balance. "Whoa whoa waaahh-!" Fortunately Alois was there, managing to catch her before she went splat on the ground.

As for the watering can, it was caught by a tall student with tanned skin and trimmed white hair, a stoic expression on his face. "You should be more careful, young one," he advised as he set the can down.

"Maybe I shouldn't have it so full next time," Sothis ceded as Alois stood her back on her feet. "Thanks for catching me."

"No problem! And a good day to you as well, Dedue!" the jovial knight greeted.

"Hello, Sir Alois. I assume you're looking after the professor's daughter after the recent kidnapping attempt?" Dedue Molinaro queried.

"Indeed! I can't believe that fiend would target cute innocent Sothis here, of all people!" Alois sighed.

"Well, this is a surprise, seeing you not clinging to Dimitri's side," Sothis observed. "I mean, no offense, but you seem more like his butler than his fellow student..."

"My lord saved my life. I owe him everything," Dedue replied bluntly. "That being said, I do come here to tend the flowers sometimes."

"Well, good for you," Sothis nodded. "Um, not that I wanna bring back bad memories, but what did he save you from?"

"...an angry mob, that had already slaughtered the rest of my family, for a crime we did not commit," Dedue began. "But my lord intervened, shamed the mob, and then took me as his servant. I was prepared to die that day, but he gave me a reason to live. ...That is all."

"But... why would the mob go after you?" Sothis couldn't help but ask.

"Ah, perhaps it's not a good idea to press him on this," Alois interjected. "If you really want to know, you should go ask Dimitri himself..."

"That would be prudent. If you would excuse me." With that, Dedue walked past them to the far wall of the greenhouse.

(He looked so sad just now...) Sothis thought to herself. Aloud she said, "Okay, let's leave him be and go see Dimitri instead. Please?"

"All right then," Alois nodded as they went off together. "Let's go check the training grounds first, he's usually there if he's not studying..."

*Training Grounds*

Sure enough, Dimitri was sparring with another student when they arrived, a young man with black hair pulled back into a rough ponytail. But Dimitri had the advantage, using his practice spear to knock the trainer sword out of his opponent's hand. "Phew! Good spar, Felix," he said, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

"Are you finally satisfied, you boar?" the other student, Felix Hugo Fraldarius, panted. "I suppose even feral beasts have to rest once in a while..."

"Hey, that's not very nice!" Sothis called out. "He's your house leader, show him some respect at least!"

"...oh, it's the professor's child. A word of advice: if you know what's good for you, you won't associate with this boar any more than you have to," Felix said bluntly, turning on his foot and leaving.

"Well, you're just a big fat JERK!" Sothis yelled after him, blowing a raspberry for good measure.

"Don't mind Felix. He's been like that ever since he lost his brother," Dimitri sighed. "It doesn't help that said brother saved my life at the cost of his own..."

"Ohh, so he's like 'why did you have to live instead of him'?" Sothis comprehended.

"That's part of it, I'm sure," Dimitri nodded. "But that's a story for another time. Was there something you or Sir Alois wanted?"

"Well, we just had an encounter with Dedue at the greenhouse, and Sothis here was curious about how he came to be your right-hand man, so to speak," Alois explained. "I said that it might be a better idea to ask you about it, so we didn't bring up bad memories for him..."

"Ah, I see. That was quite thoughtful of you," Dimitri said with a smile and a nod. "That being said... I'm not sure a child like you is ready to hear this. After all, I wouldn't want to upset the professor, like Claude has said in the past..."

"I'm not a baby," Sothis griped. "Can't you tell me the gist without including any gory details, at least? I already know that you saved Dedue from an angry mob... I just want to know why they were after him in the first place."

"He told you that, did he? ...very well, then. But let us head back to my dormitory room first, so there are no eavesdroppers..."

*Dimitri's Dorm Room*

"All right, we should be able to speak freely here," Dimitri said as he shut the door. "I should stress that what I'm about to tell you should be told to no one else beside the professor..."

"I can keep my lips zipped," Sothis nodded.

"Yes, me too," Alois concurred. "Though I already have an idea about what happened, at least the popular parlance. Or should I say, par-lance, given your weapon?"

"...Wow, Byleth was right," Sothis deadpanned. "Your jokes really are as bad as he said they were..." Something then suddenly occurred to the greenette. "Oh no, I wasn't supposed to say that to your face! I'm gonna get spanked for sure now...!"

"Pffft... Hahahaha!" Dimitri laughed.

"Oh sure, laugh at my impending misfortune, why don't you!" Sothis griped.

"No, it's... that joke... hahahahaha!" Dimitri gasped out, nearly doubling over.

"Wait, you actually found that funny?!" Alois said in utter disbelief.

"Seriously?!" Sothis grunted.

"Ah-haha... ahem. Well, how do I put this... it was so unfunny that it somehow came all the way back around to hilarious," Dimitri elaborated.

"Oh... I see. Well, I'm glad somebody laughed at my jokes for once," Alois said.

"Okay, but can we get back on topic now?!" Sothis whined.

"Ahem, yes, of course," Dimitri grunted, managing to mostly regain his composure. "You wanted to know why Dedue was being hunted down by the angry mob, yes?"

"Yeah, he said it was for a crime he didn't commit," Sothis stated. "So what crime was it?"

"...the murder of my father, Lambert," Dimitri said after a moment. "It was the same incident where Felix's brother Glen lost his life. An unknown group of assassins descended on us when we were visiting the small town of Duscur, cutting down everyone without mercy. The only reason I survived was due to Glen's body laying atop me; the assassins apparently didn't bother to check if I was truly dead..."

"That's... that's horrible!" Sothis shook her head. "And the mob believed Dedue's family was responsible?"

"One of the only other survivors said they remembered seeing Dedue's father amongst the chaos," Dimitri replied. "You have to understand, my father was beloved among the people of Faerghus province and beyond. For him to be slain with out rhyme or reason... anyway, Dedue's father pleaded guilty in court and was summarily executed. But that wasn't enough for some people... they descended on Duscur and burned it to the ground. From what Dedue told me, his family barely escaped the blaze... When I heard about it, I insisted on going there to try and head off any further violence. Glen's father, Rodrigue, wasn't happy, but ultimately agreed to take me there. As you heard, I arrived just in time to save Dedue himself, putting myself between him and the mob and telling them that I was Lambert's son. That was enough to stop them for the moment, but they kept calling for his head, despite my protests that he was innocent, that the sins of the father did not apply to the son... so I told them I was taking Dedue as my servant to 'atone' for his so-called crimes, and that finally caused the crowd to disperse."

"That was quite brave of you, if more than a little reckless," Alois put a hand behind his head.

"So, just to be clear, you don't think Dedue or his family had anything to do with massacre?" Sothis pressed.

"Right. Dedue himself told me that he had heard his parents arguing, his mother saying that his father was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and begging him not to fall on his sword, metaphorically speaking... part of the reason I came here to Garreg Mach was to investigate those truly responsible for the tragedy of Duscur..."

"You think maybe those fools who tried to kidnap me might be connected?" Sothis mused.

"It's certainly possible. And if that does turn out to be the case, no force in Gamindustri will stop me from getting- er, administering justice," Dimitri corrected himself.

"Right. Well, I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told that Edelgard- no man is an island," Sothis stated with her arms crossed. "Don't think that you have to avenge your father and Glen's death all by yourself! Remember, Byleth lost his father, too, but he worked with the Lowee Guild to hunt down those responsible!"

"Yes, I'm aware. And your advice is sound," Dimitri nodded with a smile. "I know the professor's pain, and hopefully we can work together to root out those who slither in the dark, whoever they may be..."

"And don't forget that we of the Knights of Seiros are willing to lend our aid as well!" Alois spoke up. "If the situation calls for some levity, I will do what I can to provide!"

"Please don't," Sothis snarked.

"I appreciate that, Sir Alois," Dimitri nodded. "You should focus on honing that comedic talent of yours, for sure."

"Hah! Then I will indeed go and do just that!" Alois exclaimed. "I'll come up with some one-liners that'll really take your breath away! In a good way, I mean! If you'll excuse me..." And so he exited, apparently having forgotten who he was supposed to be escorting in his excitement.

"...You fool, what have you done?!" Sothis hissed. "You've brought calamity and woe upon us all! I hope you're satisfied, you get your laughs while the rest of us die of cringe!"

"C-come now," Dimitri grunted, "that sort of exaggeration is typical for a child of your age... anyway, shall I take you back to the professor?"

"Yes, I suppose. But I'm going to tell him of the doom you've brought upon us!" Sothis said with an angry expression.

Sure enough, the next day Dimitri found himself writing a long essay on provoking people with his words...

*Episode 11- End*

A/N: I hated essay questions in school, because writing for that long made my hand hurt! X-(