Happenstance (Fire Emblem Fates)

Bloodline

Anankos eyed the landline phone warily, his face twisting into a mix of uncertainty and mild annoyance. "Don't you think this would be a waste of time?"

Azura replied evenly, "And us sitting around having tea time isn't?" She had a slight frown tugging at her lips, but her voice remained its usual calm tone. "You might as well try."

She had a point, he mused. Calling Mikoto and getting information from her was better than sitting around the house, waiting for something to happen. Of course, all of this was delaying him from figuring out his internal situation with his other self and Takumi. As much as he would have preferred to keep to himself and personally dragged Takumi out of wherever he was, he had the unconscious body of Ryoma and the threat of the thief to deal with.

He stared at the phone, lips pulled into a straight line and eyebrows drawn. His confusion must have been evident because Azura spoke up. "You do know how to use a phone, don't you?"

If the way his gaze fell downcast in embarrassment was any way to tell, Azura figured the answer to her question was a definite no. She mumbled a comforting "it's fine, don't worry about it," while taking the phone and inputting what must have been Mikoto's cell phone number. She handed him the plastic casing and he took it in one hand, using the other to fiddle with the curled wire in new found anxiety as the phone dialed.

"Hello?" Came the voice through the phone. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Anankos could recall Mikoto being mad about being called during work, but she would loosen up upon the realization that it was a family member calling her. She was always busy, running around the hospital as a nurse, and Anankos had the feeling that he was wasting her time, if anything.

"Mikoto?" He tested the name, the word sounding odd with Takumi's voice. He winced slightly; maybe he should clarify himself. The woman probably would have deduced it eventually anyways. "It's Anankos."

He shifted awkwardly during the pause before Mikoto spoke again. "Where is Takumi?" There was a low, threatening undertone in her words, but he figured that must have been her maternal instinct.

Anankos shifted his gaze to Azura, who was sitting in the chair next to the sofa with Ryoma on it. He had a feeling she could hear Mikoto, despite the receiver being pressed close to his ear. "That's..." Suddenly, he felt uncertain in himself. Anxious, even. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and his grip on the phone tightened slightly. "That's why I'm calling."

The silence from the other side of the line seemed to goad him into continuing. "He retreated to our subconscious this morning and I haven't heard from him since. I tried to find him but... it's almost as if he isn't there at all." He brought his eyes to the unconscious body of Ryoma and something in his chest began to twist. "And that isn't the only bad news from today."

"Why? What else happened?" Mikoto sounded shaken. Anankos felt guilt digging at him and began to blame himself for everything that had happened today. If he hadn't let his other half able, Takumi would be fine and not missing in action. And if he hadn't been trying to find Takumi, he might have found Ryoma and taken down the thief. If he hadn't bound himself to Takumi, none of this would have happened in the first place -

"Anankos!" Mikoto shouted in a whisper, and he could only wonder how long he had been lost in his thoughts, "What else happened?" The fear in her voice struck something in him. Hearing her afraid triggered something in him and he had the urge to quell her fears, even as his own came boiling to the surface.

"Ryoma," he breathed, and now he couldn't bare to look at the unconscious form on the couch, "he was attacked - by the same person who is after the divine weapons."