Chapter 148 - My CO Stash #48 - Unexpectedly, My Otherworldly Fantasy Adventure Goes Right by Taine (OregairuXFireEmblem) (2/2)

We even had a trace to follow.

That was enough for the both of us, for now.

”Let's go then.” She whispered. I silently agreed.

With that, we just continued to follow the road, in complete silence.

_______​

My only wish for the next few hours of walking, wasn't to stop the awkward silence or trying to cheer up my companion.

I was more than capable to live with both, given my status as a loner.

No, my only wish for the next hours was to find one god damn car. Or, at least someone normal who we could ask for indications.

Instead, I was forced to walk for three hours straight, when the sun was setting and when the night already fell on us.

Now it was officially night and our only guiding light was the stars and the moon.

And I was exhausted!

Who knew that walking for extended periods of time on an old stone path could tire you out.

Rubbing off some of my sweat, I turned to glance at Robin, who was now watching ahead and ignoring me.

She seemed winded, but she was in a far better state than me. She probably was in better shape than me, but I honestly couldn't tell with her cloak covering her form.

Sorry father, it seems that your lazy son is in worse shape than an amnesiac chuuni girl is. May you find the strength to forgive your disappointment of a son.

Robin suddenly stopped, and I gladly followed her example.

”We should camp.” She said.

I glanced at her with my best casual attitude.

”It's getting dark, we can barely see the road. However, we are in the borders of the forest, so we should be near the capital now.” She explained.

I nodded, more than happy to have an excuse to stop walking.

But a thought made me frown. The so-called capital.

Obviously, 'Chrom' wasn't referring to Tokyo. It was impossible.

By now, and even when we woke up, we should be at least in some sort of border from the city, some highway, or at least have met any kind of civilization!

Instead, we didn't even get to see the metropolis itself in the distance, now that the trees were dispersed and the horizon clear.

”And we need to rest to complete the journey tomorrow” she added.

Ah, I mused. She noticed my state as a liability. I'm ashamed of myself.

”You're right. Thanks.” I honestly said.

We stared at each other, unsure of what to do. I tried to not cringe at the impassive look that she was giving me.

After more embarrassing seconds of staring at each other, she suddenly asked:

”Well, what are you waiting for?”

I blinked confused and heisted a bit. What? What do you want woman?

”I… don't know. What do you want me to do?”

She looked confused and surprised at my admission. She scrutinized me, trying to find a way to process my question.

”You… don't know what to do?” she slowly asked, like to confirm her suspicions.

I nodded. Short, quick and without possibilities to embarrass me more.

The perfect way to answer any embarrassing questions.

I never was a man of the people, even when I was a kid, or during my dark ages. I always prefer to shy away and be with the… acquaintances… that I had at the time.

So, I never had the chance to go out and camping with the other kids.

In that sense, I lived a relatively sheltered life.

”I… see… just bring me some wood then. I'll go… hunting I guess.” She said, nodding to herself.

I nodded along, satisfied with my simple task, before I quickly realized what she said. She was going to do what?

”A-are you sure about it? C-couldn't you just… I don't know, find some fruits or fungus?” I hastily asked.

Robin turned puzzled at me, stopping in her step.

”Why though? Animal meat should be more tasty, am I right…?”

I opened my mouth to start retorting, but I quickly snapped it close.

Surely, Robin was thinking to catch some small animals, like I don't know, squirrel or birds.

Or… not something big and dangerously stupid, like a wolf or, god forbid, a bear.

Yeah. Crazy cosplayer or not, she didn't show me suicidal tendencies, so she would be fine. I'm a bit ashamed to let her do the heavy lifting, but at least she seems confident to know what to do.

I nodded. Yeah, I should trust her.

”You're right. Be careful.”

Robin smiled brightly in response.

Stop that woman! Only Totsuka or Komachi are allowed to smile at me like that.

If I want to wake up in the morning, it would be with Totsuka's smile, or Komachi's cheery voice!

What are you trying to do, replace them? Totsuka is the only one for me!

Quick Hachiman, think about him, or your cheeky little sister!

Phew, I'm safe now.

Clearly, Totsuka's smile is the only pure and genuine thing that can save me from sins.

And, as I walk away satisfied with the effectiveness of my mental barrier, I had a terrifying thought:

How will I eat a raw animal?

________​

Turns out, I didn't have to steel my stomach.

When I was back, Robin was already there with her arms full of raw, skinned meat.

It was still disgusting, but not seeing the entire corpses and not knowing where it came from helped a lot.

When I asked what happened to the corpses, Robin said that it was too heavy to take all the body here, so she needed to cut the body in pieces and took them here in two trips.

I felt a bit ill at the explanation, but asked anyway how she skinned the meet.

She showed me an old pocketknife.

I just nodded, and refused to ask more questions, on the matter.

Now, the only matter to think about was how to cook the mentioned meat.

And that meant we had to start a fire.

Luckily, for me, Robin seems very knowledgeable about camping, and she patiently explained to me how to start a fire.

She admitted, sheepishly, that she had the sensation that normally, she would use a fire tome to start the bonfire, and that she probably was out of practice. Unfortunately, she added, now that she didn't have it to show me, so we had to do it the hard way.

Turns out, she didn't think she could control the thunder tome to simply light the fire.

I refuse to comment on that piece of information. It wasn't my place to put her fantasy down for good.

When the both of us return to civilization, and after we found a way to contact her parents, it will be their job. That was the meaning of delegation, right?

See dad, I can be a corporate slaver, just like your boss!

And so, we start cooking the raw meat.

Even if cooking would be an exaggeration, in fact, we used some spare branches of wood to pierce the meat carefully maintain them over the fire to cook.

It was maybe fifteen minutes later, when the meat was almost cooked, that we heard clopping coming from the woods.

Robin snapped her attention to the road, slowly closing her piece of meat to her c_h_e_s_t.

Was she… was she trying to protect her dinner with her body?

God, she was! She was glaring at the road, expecting that whoever got out will try to steal her dinner from her!

I almost snickered, but I forced myself to continue watching my meal roasting. I was hungry too, ok?

Eventually, we saw the source of the clopping.

Predictably, it was another knight. Worse, he wore a bright red armour, so eye-catching to be painful.

Oh, and it seemed that he was a she. Cool.

What's up with all those cosplayers today anyway?

Noticing us, the knight in reined the horse with a stereotypical ”Ey-ooooh! Down girl.”

Good accent, lady. Seems very southern.

”You there! Travellers!” she then greeted us, dismounting from her horse.

I glanced impassively at her, simply nodding my greetings and let Robin do the talk.

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be in the mood to dialogue this time.

”…yes. Hello there…” she slowly replied, her bright eyes suspiciously scanning her, while keeping her dinner at a safe distance, close to her body.

The knight laughed loudly, noticing the hostility of my companion.

”Oh, not the talkative type kid? And hold your horses, missy. I'm not going to steal your dinner.” She assured, walking carefully towards us. When Robin slightly relaxed, she sat beside us, staring at the campfire.

Oi, what the heck did you call me, red? What's with you idiots today and all the 'stay in character' at every hour of the day.

It's night, just stop it already!

What is it? A bet? A challenge? A rotten brain?

”Name's Sully. I'm searching for the Captain. Have you seen him? Blue hair, stupid smile, big mark on his arm?”

Noticing me completely ignoring the guest, Robin, now more at ease with her presence, took the task of talking with her.

Eh, good luck with this weirdo.

”Oh, you mean Chrom? We meet him three hours ago. He was together with Lissa and Sir Frederick. They were following the road.” She explained, pointing the direction to the girl with one hand and with the other cooking the meat on the fire.

'Sully' smiled at the information, or so I thought because what I saw was the dangerous grin of a predator that was tracking his prey.

Scary stuff. Man, those guys are awesome.

If we had even half of them in the live action industry, maybe they would produce something watchable!

Ah! Who am I kidding? There is no way that they will ever write something decent!

Oh, wait, she was still talking…

”Ah! Thanks girlie!” she laughed boisterously, giving Robin a heavy pack on her back.

Robin winced in pain.

I smirked; glad to have escaped this over the top treatment.

”Now, not to ruin your dinner, but I have to ask ya some questions. Routine, you know?” she said, showing us a more serious face.

I could almost take her seriously if it wasn't for that stupid bright red armour.

Sorry girl, your superb acting is destroyed by your ridiculous character.

May you have more fortune in your next role.

So I rolled my eyes when Robin give her a worried look and a hesitant nod, like she was taking her seriously.

Pleased by the cooperation, Sully ginned at her and asked:

”Good. So what's a Plegian and weirdo in pajamas doing in hostile territories?” she asked.

The tone was friendly, but something about her way of asking put me on the edge.

Can't point what thought.

Maybe her body language?

I leveled her a glare, trying to convey to her all my irritation.

Who are you calling a weirdo, you delusional woman? I have a perfect and reasonable explanation for why I am in the woods in pajamas.

What's your excuse? Your fantasy?

During my mental rant, Robin completely ignored her (probably) insult, and tilted her head cutely:

”I guess you're talking to me with that Plegian comment. How do you know?”

The red headed girl looked slightly angry at her comment, and impatiently raised an eyebrow: ”And here I thought… look, I don't know why are you even playing your stupid-ass game, if you have that Plegian coat for all to see.”

Her reply made Robin glanced at her coat in wonder and fascination, seemingly eying her possession with new eyes.

”I see… if you say it like that, it must be true. I didn't know it was of Plegian origin…”

She blinked, and then, escaping her musing, turned again to the knight.

”So, you were saying we are in Ylissean territory, right?”

Rather put out from the sheer audacity of the statement, the red knight eyed my unfortunate companion like she was completely crazy.

”Riiight. Yes, you are in Ylisse now. Right towards the capital too…”

At that point of the conversation, I found my meat satisfactorily cooked and started to eat.

It was, as expected, very disgusting. So horrible in fact, that I think I was throwing my breakfast right there and there.

No salt, spice or any chemical addition.

Truly, I have to ask myself how humanity survived for millennia with this crappy food.

I resolved myself that, when I arrive at civilization again, I'm going to empty an entire stash of my sisters 'super secret' ice cream and, after that, I'm going to eat so much fast food to throw up for the next two days.

God bless trash food. Cheap, legal and delicious.

Have I already said that it's cheap? The only way for food to be better is to be free!

”Anyway, Chrom sent us to Lady Emmerin…” Robin was explaining when I turned out my brilliant monologue, and she was showing Red the letter written by the 'prince'.

Sully didn't even bother to take it. She just scowled.

”…because we were kidnapped and mugged, and he said Lady Emmerin would help us…”

'Sully' nodded, looking at the letter with all the disgust she could muster to an inanimate object.

Sorrow filled her face, and she growled some really impolite word.

In the end, she sighed and said: ”Yeah, that's sound like Capitan, alright. Always helping anyone, eve…” she stopped.

It didn't take a genius to figure out her disp_l_e_a_s_u_r_e with this arrangement.

Protective much?

”Sorry for the questioning, man. But, you know, duty and times, you know the story.” She said, giving us a half-assed explanation.

We didn't, of course. One of us was an amnesiac, and the other knows better than getting caught up in stupid fantasy role-playing.

So, really, we didn't know. You could be lording your 'authority' on us, for all we know.

But again, don't care.

”Well, thanks for the information. If I run with my girl, I should be able to catch them.” She said, probably talking to herself.

With that, she got up and, with a flawless motion, she reached for her mount and jump on it.

”Well, thanks. Good meal and all that. Se ya!” she said, spurring her horse.

And with that, the horse immediately started running, and she vanished, while Robin waved at her.

The albino was just trying to put her now cooked meal in her mouth and taste of the untreated meat, when a new voice stopped her:

”No please, milady, wait for me!”

I didn't even need to see the clearly male new arrival to know what kind of guy this other weirdo was impersonating.

Really, the speech pattern and the tone of his voice was enough.

Sighing exasperatedly, wondering when all those… quirky characters would stop appearing, I watched as a man with long, silver-grey hairs, delicate features and a really realistic bow on his shoulder appeared running and huffing on the road.

I took another bite of the disgusting garbage that Robin called food.

This guy was a cheap rip-off of a certain genetically engineered and drugged swordsman with an impossible long sword that was clearly compensating for his lack of masculinity.

As expected, the guy's eyes immediately zeroed on the only lady in the zone, who was watching him curiously, meat still untouched.

And, as expected, the first thing the rip-off said to us (her) was a compliment.

”Ah, good evening, lovely lady…” he started, just while I swallowed the last bite of my dinner.

I wasn't surprised that he didn't notice me.

I was forgettable. In particular, for guys like this.

The effeminate archetype took a deep breath, completely shattering the illusion of the perfect gentleman carefully built in the last three seconds of the meeting.

Sheesh, he must be extremely tired.

”My name is Virion, archer of archers. I travel from nation to nation with an important mission of love. Have such a stunning lady like yourself met an equal mistress of…”

And of course, he was searching for Red. I quickly glanced at my companion, who was closely listening to the man's speech.

While she wasn't by any means insulted or irked by the interruption, I could easily tell that she was getting impatient to eat.

The look she gave at her dinner was telling.

So I interrupted him. The less time I spent with him, the better.

”Red's gone. Just lost her actually. Follow this path and you'll find her with her friends.”

The man, 'Virion' quickly turned his head to me. He seemed surprised by my intervention, probably because he just noticed me.

”Oh, good evening, good sir! I kindly thank you for your timely information.” He said, and, to my surprise, he actually bowed slightly to me too.

I admit, this guy was a master of social interaction. Not only his pompous method is strangely tolerable, but he didn't seem like the classic pervert too.

He showed absolutely politeness even to me, and he seemed genuinely mortified to not have noticed me.

Maybe he was a so called Casanova?

”I am sure that fate will not forg…”

Didn't matter. He was still the annoying type.

I looked at Robin, who seemed thankful she could get a chance to eat her dinner. I was pretty sure she was now eating her second skewer of meat.

”Don't worry, it is easy enough. You should hurry though. Red's got a horse, and she was in a hurry. If you rest too much here, you'll lose her.”

I curtly said. As an afterthought, I added: ”Deep breaths.”

The cheap rip-off of the one winged angel (eheh) smiled at me, and again, bowed politely and; dare I say; gratefully at me.

”Ah, a man of few words but strong actions. Thank you again for your assistance, good sir. I, Viron, will not forget your act of aid in my dark times.”

I nodded, and took a moment to let the guy take a breath. He seemed widened.

Besides, he will need all of his breath for the run he will do from here.

I am not a sadist after all.

”Cut from the woods, if you can. The road has more curves than trees. You should catch up.”

His smile widened.

It was the kind of smile that I see every day in the face of a certain popular blonde, the kind that I hated the most: practiced, reflexive. False.

And yet, at the same time, I could feel the gratitude. The feeling.

It was curious. Was it because of the character that it felt false? Was it because he was actually glad to have a way to reach his friend?

I couldn't give a straight answer.

It was still disgusting, though.

”Again, Thank you, sir. I will not waste your precious aid. Goodbye and good luck, friend. And a good dinner to you too, my lady.” He concluded.

Turning, he took a deep breath and started running, cutting through the woods.

I couldn't believe how even his running was stylish.

Damn him.

I placidly looked back at Robin, who was now eating what I guess was her fourth piece. She smiled at me, thankful.

I divert her gaze: it's not that I took the reign of the conversation so you could eat or anything, you idiot!

I did that because he was the annoying type of character! Really!

Damn it stop smiling like that!

I decided to eat my second piece. It was still disgusting, but free food was free food, above all if you were in the wilderness.

”You got some water inside that coat?” I idly asked, trying to ignore the smile. I didn't really expect anything from her.

Gulping her bite, she nodded. She quickly took from the coat a container.

Hesitantly, I took it from her and sniffed it.

It stank.

”Take few sips. We have another one, but we'll need that for tomorrow.”

I sighed in resigned acceptance. It wasn't ideal, but she was right.

Drinking, I briefly wondered how she could recall all these tips for camping and emergency situations.

It wasn't anything too shocking, save the hunting, so I could still believe the claim that she has no memory.

But she seemed almost… in sync with the situation.

The water was, unsurprisingly, not fresh or clean by any standard; like everything that I had today.

But I enjoyed the water nonetheless, thanks to the hours of walking done today.

Once finished, I grudgingly gave the water bottle back to its owner, and she gulped the last remnant of the liquid in one go.

With a satisfied sigh, she took the bottle back in her coat, and we both enjoyed the relaxing sensations of rest and warmth, camping after a long day of hardship.

We stood firm one in front of the other, staring at the flames of our improvised camp.

And in the silence, I thought.

I thought of home. I thought of how sad my sister would be when she didn't find me home once back from school. Of how worried my parents would be for my absence.

Of how Yukinoshita would frown and scold me for being in this situation or how Yuigahama would fret in panic over me.

I thought of how prof Hiratsuka would punch me in the gut for skipping a day of school or…

”Hachiman…” the light voice of my unfortunate companion broke me from my musing.

I still haven't stopped her from calling me that. Only Saika can do that. Only Saika would do that.

Not Komachi. Not Yukinoshita. Yuigahama gave me a nickname though.

I looked back at her, and I found myself staring at brilliant golden eyes.

She was…close. Not exceptionally close, but now, instead of in front of me, she was at my side.

”Mmh?” I mumbled sombrely.

”We should go to sleep.” She simply said.

Nodding, I observed Robin extinguish the fire.

Sleeping on the ground while in the open would normally be a hassle, a burden, for someone that has slept in a bed for all his life.

But being mentally beaten and tired from the day, with all those events and emotional trauma, didn't make me complain like I normally would.

Well, the emotional trauma was mostly Robin, giving her circ_u_mstances, but I too, was exhausted.

I placed myself under a tree, the cold air of the night washing over me, making me shiver.

Soon, Robin joined me. Under the same tree. Right next to me.

Too close.

Like, we could touch each other's shoulder close.

I frowned at her, but she didn't seem intimidated by my disappointment.

Instead, she lightly smiled and said: ”It's cold.” like it was all the explanation I needed.

My frown deepened. She was right, of course. Sharing body heat was a well-known method to prevent cold, and a cliché one that I read in every book or novel.

The problem was.. it felt intimate.

Why she didn't seem to get that, it was a mystery.

But I didn't need to see it that way. I have to think like a means to an end; survival (even if it's a stretch) and prevent the two of us from freezing to death.

Of course, my mental straight didn't change much.

Seeing me not attempting to distance her, Robin took her clue and made herself comfortable.

And then… we just stared at the sky, at the stars, awkward and insecure of what to do, or say.

Normally, I would be strongly against this kind of retarded and stupidly cliché development.

Two people, a boy and a girl close together under a tree under the excuse of sharing body heat?

It is a situation so overused it made me sick every time I have to read it in a novel; or, if I just happen to see it in real life, I would roll my eyes and think that the two idiots should go and die together if they want to recreate the lovely experience.

Romeo and Juliet is a worldwide 'romantic' success after all, why don't they recreate that?

In a novel, this situation should be the cute and romantic moment that would make the audience go 'aww' and realize that the author was hinting a specific pairing.

But now, I knew better.

There was nothing sweet or romantic in this situation. We were two strangers to each other, we knew each other barely six hours ago at least.

We were both exhausted and cold, smelled like rotten garbage, and I personally wanted only to close my eyes and wake up in my home, and remember all of this as a nightmare.

Yes, all of this was everything but romantic.

Lazily, I observed the star, trying to figure out the constellations and, obviously, I didn't recognize any.

I never have, and never would.

I could barely find the North Star.

I close my eyes, amused by my futile attempt.

”Goodnight, Hachiman.” Robin said softly, but her hands gripped tightly around my left arm.

It hurt. A lot.

”G-good night Robin.” I answered back, flinching at the pain.

The grip relaxed after a bit, and it didn't take much time for me to succ_u_mb to the fatigue and fall asleep.

__________​

A powerful tremor woke me up.

”Ugh!” I grunted, displeased by the rude awakening.

”Mmh… what's happening…” was the incompressible mumbling of my very albino and very real companion.

I slowly opened my eyes: ”An earthquake, it seems. And a powerful one too…” I sighed, my eyes slowly focusing the surroundings.

”Don't worry too much. Let's just move.”

Robin grumbled incoherently something about 'stupid' and 'comfortable', but I ignored in favor to analyze my surrWHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?

Now that I could clearly see, I finally noticed the absolute hell that was happening before me.

It seemed that the earthquake was stupidly powerful, because what I was seeing was a scene directly from an apocalypse movie.

Instead of just shaking or cracking; the earth was shattering, some part of it rising, creating new wall of earth and rocks.

And freaking magma and lava were sprouting in the horizon, right in the middle of the forest, creating meteors that expanded the damage.

And the forest was on fire.

Thankfully, we were not in the center of that hell. But it was spreading.

”Hachiman! Run!” Robin screamed in panic, pulling me and shaking me from my horrified daze.

Without wasting any more time, I hastily stumbled on my feet and flanked Robin.

”Got everything?” I hastily asked, scanning the dirt.

She nodded, and that was the final cue to get the hell out of the way.

Of course, this is where I noticed that the sky was glowing. Looking up, I saw massive circles inscribed with strange scripture ripping the space apart.

From the holes, I could see…things falling from them. Humanoid things.

Watching more on the horizon, I saw that the entire visible sky was covered in those circles.

What is that? What is happening?

”Hachiman, what is this?” Robin screamed, making me turn to see her.

She looked horrible.

To be fair, I probably looked the same.

”I-I don't know. I've never seen anything like…like this!”

I growled back, losing precious air needed to escape from this nightmare.

”Just run!” I screamed.

She nodded and we accelerated.

We run. We run without looking back. I run until my legs couldn't take more running.

Of course, when that happened, I collapsed. Robin stopped immediately and quickly helped me up.

I dared to look back, and I was satisfied to notice that we were far away from the forest.

I looked up to Robin. She looked winded, but I was ready to throw up my dinner.

”I-I think (uff)… w-we're(ugh) safe now(urf)” I finally managed to say.

Robin took several deep breaths, slowly nodding her acceptance.

She gave me a small smile, which promptly died when she was hit by a realization.

”Gods! Lissa! Chrom! Everyone! They're still there!” she screamed in panic.

My breath stopped.

She was right. They were still inside the forest. The same forest that now was on fire and that was infested by those shadows.

”We have to help them!” she screamed, turning towards the fire, probably to start running again, only that this time, towards the danger.

She found herself stopped by a strong grip on her wrist.

”Ha-Hachiman?” she asked, confused.

I shook my head. Her eyes narrowed in horror.

I bit my lips. Strangely, I could taste iron.

”No.” I finally whisper.

Her reply was instantaneous: ”But…”

I shook my head again, and pointed at the forest: ”Look…” I said. She complained and flinched at the situation.

The forest was now completely engulfed by the flames, or so it seemed.

”The fire is still spreading. If we go there, we will die before reaching them. The smoke will kill you before the heat.” I slowly explained.

I heard Robin gulping, and I continued pressing, trying to stop her to run to her death.

”And even if we survive when we find them, then we will all be surrounded by the flames. What can we do then? Throw at them the last of our water? Run through it?” I demanded.

She flinched.

”Look, think about it. They have horses. If they are smart, they will abandon the weapons and armours and ride.”

That seemed to do the trick. She calmed, a bit. She still seemed panicked, but at least she wasn't ready to throw herself to the flames.

I looked again at the flames to find something, anything, to calm her down and stop her reckless charge.

”And look, they probably know the forest better than us, so they know that the path is the long way out of it. They will surely run at the edge of the forest!” I explained, showing her the extension of the woodland.

Robin observed me, then slowly turning to the forest and then again at me.

She was shaking.

”Yes…you're…right. They…they'll be fine.” She slowly said, gulping.

Robin turned to me, again, and gave me a shaky smile. ”Right?” she asked.

”Right!” I hastily answered, hopeful of not sounding as desperate as I felt.

Maybe she didn't notice. Maybe she understood me better than I gave her credit for, but Robin just stood there, staring at me in the eyes.

I cracked, and, looking away, I said: ”We should move.”

She agreed, nodding hesitantly: ”Yes…yes, we should.” she whispered, before a sob forced its way, breaking her composure.

I just stared, reflecting on what I had just done.

Did I just condemn people?

”Let's go.” I said, starting marching towards… something. Away from the forest.

Robin, thankfully, followed me, and decide to don't just… run towards the fire.

Silence fell between us.

Both of us were too occupied to think about the last events.

The cosplayers… did I? No… that wasn't important.

Not as important as what caused the fire.

My mind was a mess, recalling what I had just assisted. And even if I wanted to forget, just looking up to the sky would remind me of the apocalyptic scenario I was living.

Purple circles in the sky.

The earthquake could be explained. That was easy. It wasn't unreasonable.

But the circles? The falling shadows?

That… didn't have a logical explanation. A prank? What a joke, this is too much to be a prank!

It could be possible, but the amount of work and money needed to pull something like this would dry half the money of a nation!

So … this was real. All that happened was real. But it was impossible.

Except that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

I choked a laugh, calling my companion attention.

Yes, but what was more impossible? That all of this glowing summoning bullshit was real or that all of this is an elaborate prank at my expense, a joke financed by my country nonetheless?

The truth must be… the truth…

”Hachiman!” Robin screamed, panicked. She slammed her body into mine, making me lose my balance.

We both fell on the ground, and I heard a thud from behind me.

Turning my head, I observed in horror an arrow. An arrow that was impaled on the terrain.

What?

”Hachiman, get up! Can you fight?” the female voice that I could barely associate to my Robin's asked. But I was confused. I didn't understand much.

Fight? What? The…

”I—no. Never…”

I heard an expression of disappointment, but Robin helped me up nonetheless.

Once on my feet, I could see the culprit of the attack. It was… a thing.

Robin's hand clenched mine, and she gulped. I mirrored her.

The closest thing I could compare the… monster in front of me was a zombie. But it wasn't. Not completely at least.

From my knowledge, zombies were moving corpses, with decadent flesh and zero intelligence.

This thing had flesh. It was grey, pale and sickly, but it was there. It even wore armour and wielded a weapon.

I gulped.

The archer wasn't alone. They were in five of them.

”U-undead…” I whispered, shocked.

My vision blurred, and I almost fell on my knees observing the impossibility in front of me.

It was only the grip of the woman beside me that allowed me to regain part of my wits.

”Stay strong Hachiman.” The voice, Robin's voice admonished me.

I gulped.

She felt… different. Calm. Collect, in some way. In control.

But Robin wasn't like that. I knew her. She was scared too.

”Do you know them, Hachiman?” she asked, eyeing the monster carefully.

Do I? I… I don't think…

I observed them. They were still, waiting. They weren't even breathing. But if they were Undead, they wouldn't need to.

”I-I know of… them” I settled to say, feeling myself shaking pathetically.

”Weak points?” she asked, slowly but steadily taking out of her coat a book and a sword.

The things were walking towards us. They weren't running, but they were fast. Like marching.

We took steps back, maintaining the distance.

She wanted to fight them, I realized. Was she crazy? We should run!

But they were in front of us, and a forest on fire behind us.

Shit!

I gulped.

Weak points? I had to… yes, that should work.

”Undead are… they don't feel pain. They are not… no, they could be slightly stronger than an average human. Weak points… the head or the heart. Those two.”

I could feel her nod, and she said: ”They wear armour, so, head is the optimal choice.”

She nodded to herself and gave me her sword. ”Hachiman, I need you to calm down and fight with me. I can't win against all of them alone. Can you do that?”

I hesitate. Fight with her? I can't fight! I never fought in my life, less of all fought with a sword!

I took the weapon. In my hand, it felt heavy. Real.

I… wasn't dreaming, was I?

Robin raised her hand, her tome in the other, and quickly explained: ”I'll distract them. You close the archer and behead it. Then hit the next one. Ok?”

I nodded. It was a good plan as any.

Sound of static reached my eyes, but I didn't dare to leave the monsters unwatched.

”Thunder!” the albino; the mage, I realized; screamed, and I felt and saw lightning flashing in front of me.

Magic.

The spell impacted against the terrain in front of the archer, who was now prepared with its next arrow.

I almost deflate at the failure.

Then the magic exploded, and Robin screamed: ”Go!”

The Undead were now flying away, dispersed, and I quickly followed the archer.

When I reached my target, I noticed that it was trying to get up. So I kicked him on his leg and let it fell again like a sack of potatoes. I then proceeded to stab him in his unprotected head.

The first hit pierced the bone of the skull. It wasn't enough, because I could see it was still moving.

So I struck again. This time, it pierced deeper, and, accordingly, the thing was having difficulty moving.

Another explosion behind me, but I ignored it and stabbed the archer again, this time ending it, making it evaporate in front of my eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to process what was happening.

I didn't have the luxury.

”Hachiman!” a warning shout called me, and I moved. ”Thunder!” She quickly screamed again, followed by another explosion near me.

Behind me was an Undead with an ax. Ax who was going to gut me, without a doubt.

Slowly, I saw the thing turning towards the source of damage, but I capitalized on his distraction.

I swung the swords with all my strength trying to behead him in one shot.

I hit the armour, but the surprise attack made the Undead stumble in the dirt.

I capitalized, again, and, following the lead of my previous kill, I stabbed him in the skull.

It took two stabs this time before it started to vanish.

I didn't rest to admire my work.

Instead, I turned towards the source of the explosion, and briefly, observed how Robin alternatively cast her magic to two of the things, a lance wielder, and a sword wielder.

She was successful at keeping them at bay, but it didn't take a genius to understand that the continuous casting was tiring her.

So I charged again, screaming pathetically.

My arms hurt, my head hurt, and I just wanted to this to end.

But I couldn't. I do not want to die. I will not die. Robin will not die.

So I charged, trying, once again, to behead the Undead.

Of course, the third time is not the charm.

I hit armour, cracking a bit of it, but aside from that, I only managed to catch is attention.

It ignored Robin, and, turning to me, it tried to stab me in the guts.

I hastily dodged, and then rushed to attack again. This time, I swung to his face.

This was more difficult to miss, seeing that the thing didn't even try to dodge the blow, trying to tank it.

Like hitting a baseball, the head cracked, and another swing destroyed it.

The last one was fighting Robin, or trying to anyway.

When I turned to check her, Robin launched a last spell that broke his skull with impact alone.

The thing, like all his kind, disappeared in a black mist.

I let the sword fall on the dirt, and I quickly followed its example, breathless and exhausted.

”Hachiman!” Robin screamed, running towards me.

She kneeled, and gently put my hand on my shoulder, looking worriedly over me. Probably searching for injuries.

”Are you alright? Are you hurt? Goddesses, I'm so sorry you have to do that but…”

”I'm fine!” I snapped. She closed her mouth.

”I'm not injured, just tired. Don't excuse yourself, because you were right.”

She was right. On everything.

She looked at me for a few seconds, before she launched herself in my arms, hugging me.

I… didn't react. I was.. too exhausted. Too surprised. Too… something, to tell her off.

It was nice.

”I…w-when the axe…I-I thought you were… thank you…” she cried, squeezing me hard.

Mechanically, I hugged her back.

Yeah… I was going to… If Robin hadn't… An axe would… an Undead would have…

But Robin stopped it.

From afar.

With lightning.

From her palm.

Magic.

Someone was laughing. But Robin was crying on my shoulder.

I was laughing.

And why wouldn't I? I was alive. In a strange world. Alone. With Robin.

With magic. With princes and knights. With Undead roaming free.

Wasn't it funny?

So I laughed.

(So I cried.)

Author Notes: Sup. Taine here, with my first serious story.

As the title says it is a crossover between Oreigaru and Fire Emblem Awakening. The game that saved a franchise; and is the definition of Waifu War. Knowledge of this Fire Emblem is not necessary, I'll do my damn best to make sure I explain how things work in Ylisse so the story is for everyone.

I'll assume that people don't know and say this. Three Houses is a completely different game, set in a different world. There will be no characters from that game and no High School setting. Sorry Fan.

Three Houses is great, but I started this in November.

(Golden Deer Best House, but it seems to be the Worst Route from what I understand. Finished only that one, playing the Edelgard one. Have to play the Blue Lion.)

Now, for who knows the game, expect world-building and added backstory for some character. In other words, don't freak out if things are different. There is a reason that will be explored as the story progresses.

Also, plot derailment.

Now, for the fans, pairings. I have ONE pairing set in stone, and it is NOT Robin /Hachiman. Do I have a preference for Rochiman? Yes, but it is not set in stone.

Oreigaru side: Knowledge of the Novel or Anime is not strictly necessary but, as shown, a lot of name from the series will pop up. I'll do a quick rundown of the names:

Yukinoshita Yukino: the cold rich tsundere (and an Ass. The Tsun is strong in this one, and a lot of time I found her just plain mean.) Socially incompetent and inferior complex are the reason of her tsun side, but that's not important for the story. Despite the development, I don't like her.

Yuigahama Yui: The genki girl. B_o_o_b_s. Academically dumb. The only socially competent. Should be main girl between the core group.

Totsuka Saika: The trap. It's a guy. Tennis Club captain. It's a guy. Socially awkward. It's a guy. Just want to be a bro. Did I mention that HE is a GUY? Because he is. I like him.

Zaimokuza Yoshiteru: Fat chuuni boy, which means he constantly impersonates a historical character with his name. Want to be a novelist, but it seems he is horrible at it. I relate to the guy.

Hikigaya Komachi: Sly little sister. She has Hachiman whipped. That Siscon.

Kawasaki Saki: You don't need to know her, just that Hachiman can't remember her name. It's a running gag. Delinquent with a heart of gold. Can sew and cook. Brocon. Wife material, best girl of his age group.

Foxy Junior A.K.A Isshiki Iroha: Still don't need to know her, but… Junior, Student Council President, lazy and third rate manipulator. Want to remain at the top of the social pyramid. Hachiman sees her as a little sister, or so he says. I'm inclined to agree. Crush hard on Hachiman, but don't want to admit to herself 'cause Hachiman is a loner. Go figure.

Hayame Hayato: Blonde and Rich. Popular guy. Sociopath (by Hachiman standards). Just want to stay with his circle forever.

Yukinoshita Haruno: Yukino older sister and a major cause of her complexes. Ara-Ara Onee-san type. She is a social genius and manipulator, but can't have a decent relationship with his sister and family.

Those are the people mentioned in this chapter. Others may appear, but the only one worth mentioning is:

Hiratsuka Shizuka: Hot teacher. Thirty something. Single. Violent, smoke, whiny and nerdy. Good life advisor. Best Girl.

I will periodically answer questions, but if ignore some of them, is because I risk spoiling the story.

I ask you to put Awakening plot points in Spoiler sections. The major ones. This is not a thread rule, but Fire Emblem became mainstream with TH, so not everyone knows Awakening.

Discussion and speculation are appreciated so are corrections.

Next chapter next week. Need to write it on World. After that, expect a biweekly update.

See you next time,

Taine