A/N: I was playing RD, and I got to the info convo with Oscar giving Kieran the Imbue scroll. I love their convos so much, and it cracked me up to see that Kieran would only accept the gift if it marked him as Oscar's true rival. But then, right after reading the convo, I gave Oscar's gift away to another unit... and this story idea popped right into my mind...

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"HA!" Kieran yelled, waving the precious scroll triumphantly over his head. "Do you know what this is, my good comrades in arms?"

Marcia, Geoffrey, and Titania looked up from the campfire they were working to build and glanced warily at the wildly dancing knight. Kieran was legendary for his enthusiastic outbursts of boasting and they were all used to it by now, but still it was standard procedure to check if the boisterous Crimean Royal Knight had his axe in hand before anyone spoke to him. Talking with Kieran always stirred him up, and whenever he was stirred up he had the habit of twirling his axe around like a baton without much concern to safety of himself and those around them.

But today he was empty handed except for the scroll he was flying about like a banner. Deciding that he would be unable to do much damage with a piece of parchment, Marcia smiled politely and asked, "What is it, Kieran?"

"This, my fellow warrior, is the gift of rivalry!" Kieran crowed, punching his fists out in excitement and knocking some of the logs from Titania's hands. "Yes, you may writhe in jealousy, but Oscar has bestowed it upon me, Captain Kieran of the most noble Crimean Knights. Not you, not you, not you! ME!"

"Congratulations," Titania said drily. "You have my eternal envy."

"As I should, good lady!" Kieran roared. "But you may covet all you like, and his rivalry shall still be mine! I, Kieran, alone have the right to challenge that squinty dastard in the hopes of vanquishing him in battle as is my destiny!"

"Better tell that to Ike. He's been assigning me as Oscar's sparring partner for years now, and I've been challenging him to battle ever since he's been a Greil mercenary."

Kieran merely snorted in disdain. "Sparring? PAH! Oscar may play your petty games, but he does not fight as your equal! By giving me this gift, he has sworn to enter into competitive battle with me and me alone!" He swung the parchment again, accidentally smacking Geoffrey across the face.

"Kieran!" Geoffrey cried, batting the paper away with his hand. "Watch it!"

"Forgive me, sir, but this lady does me great insult by suggesting herself as the true rival of Oscar. As a Crimean Royal Knight, I cannot let this insult stand!"

"You'll have to, unfortunately," Geoffrey sighed, suddenly looking very relieved. "Soren's signaling for us to come into his tent for a meeting. I think we're supposed to be going over supplies tonight."

Sure enough, the scrawny mage had his head poked out of the tent and was regarding the four of them with a for the love of the Goddess, would you hurry it up glare. "Ugh, very well," Kieran snapped, at last pocketing his scroll. "But don't think I will forget this discussion, Titania! I fought the Cursed Toucan of the Serenes for the right of Oscar's rivalry, and I WILL FIGHT YOU!"

"I'm positively shaking," Titania quipped, though a bemused smile was softening her face as she spoke to him.

"Kieran and a cursed toucan fought over Oscar's rivalry?" Marcia wondered under her breath as she and Geoffrey walked to the tent ahead of the squabbling Titania and Kieran. "I don't follow."

"Marcia, this is Kieran we're talking about," Geoffrey whispered back. "There is no reasonable explanation to be given."

0o0o0o0o0o

"Is everyone here?" Ike asked as the many soldiers took their seats around the table. "Are we missing anyone?"

"Reyson's a bit under the weather this evening, so he's staying back in my tent," Tibarn answered lazily. "Everyone else appears to be present."

"All right. Soren, would you like to begin?"

"Yes, Ike," Soren responded demurely. He turned to the army, his record book opened up in front of him. "I trust all of you who needed weapons after the last battle have already reported to me. I have them ready in the supply tent, and they will be given to you after we are finished here." The mage's voice was considerably less temperate now that he was no longer addressing Ike, and the room seemed to grow chilly as he spoke. "Anyone who failed to report to me better hope that Heather managed to steal some weapons from our last mission, because you certainly won't be getting any from my stores."

Thankfully, no one had failed to report to Soren and his temper was not released upon the room.

"Continuing on, then. If anyone has more than one elixir on their person, they should hand it off to someone without any. Makalov, I know for a fact that you have at least three in your possession. I have forbidden Aimee to buy anything off of you, so don't even think about trying to sell them for some money. Put them on the table, if you will." Makalov grudgingly did so.

Kieran yawned in boredom as Soren arranged trades among the group and made sure everyone was well stocked for the upcoming mission. As if he, Kieran of the Crimean Royal Knights, needed assistance in vanquishing his enemies! He would gladly charge at the Begnion army with naught but his bare hands if only he could receive permission to do so. Nothing and no one could defeat him! Well, maybe Oscar could, but that was nothing more than a fluke. Give him some more time, and Oscar too would be unseated from his horse, entirely as Kieran's mercy.

As Soren rambled on about how red gems should be sold for profit, not given away to impress pretty girls (Gatrie had apparently handed the army's stash away to a barmaid he had taken a fancy to), Kieran stared surreptitiously to side of the table where Oscar was sitting with the other Greil mercenaries. His rival was looking quite at ease, but then again, he always did. Kieran rarely saw him without a smile on his face, and there was just something about that damned squinty quirk of his eyes that made him look enticingly friendly to anyone who looked upon him. Kieran absently wondered why Oscar's eyes were always half closed as Soren droned on and on. He'd never really thought to ask before. Of course, he never really paid attention when he was talking to Oscar-he was always in such a frenzy, and the details always seemed to slip by him- so it was no wonder that it wasn't until now that he was actually noticing how well his rival looked, especially with that soft and welcoming smile still dancing across his features, that smile that never seemed to fade...

Soren cleared his throat loudly, disrupting Kieran's reveries. "Now that that's resolved, we should see what skill scrolls we've picked up," he stated in his clipped and businesslike tones. "Anyone with a skill scroll, please put it on the table so we consider who is best suited to it. Although..." Soren hesitated for a moment, a brief smile lighting up his usually cool and scowling face. "Kyza, if Ranulf's given you another gift, you'd better just keep it to yourself so we can avoid another scene with Lyre."

"Ranulf's affections are mine," Lyre snapped in response to the gloating look Kyza gave her at this statement.

"I could honestly care less who Ranulf's affections belong to. I just don't want you two having a go at each other when we're supposed to be having a meeting." Soren frowned tightly in annoyance; he hated being interrupted. "So. People with scrolls. Put them on the table."

Mordecai offered up a Smite scroll and Heather a Savior scroll. Kieran proudly placed his Imbue among the other two, glad to show off his gift of rivalry to the rest of the company.

"Hmm, let's see," Soren murmured. "Smite ought to be learned by someone strong... yes... someone strong enough to push others who are lagging behind ahead. Boyd might do... or Gatrie, perhaps."

"I'll take it," Boyd offered, pleased to have Soren compliment his attributes for once in his life.

"Fine. As for Savior, I was thinking perhaps Oscar might like to use it. He is always rescuing people, and it would be good of him to learn how to do it without sacrificing the speed of his mount in battle. Oscar?"

"Very well," Oscar responded, taking the scroll and pocketing it.

"Now. Imbue." Soren studied it quizzically for a moment. "There is good magic placed in this scroll. Healing magic. Very useful."

Kieran practically beamed. Of course Oscar would get him something powerful and useful! They were rivals, and it would be shoddy of him to mark their rivalry with something worthless, something Kieran would have hardly any use for...

"Titania," Soren said suddenly, "your defenses are not faring as well as they should. And since you're always charging into battle, you've been suffering more damage than is safe. Perhaps you would like to...?" He lifted up the parchment and made to pass it down to her.

Kieran instantly jumped to his feet. "SCHEMING DEVIL!" he roared, pointing an accusing finger in Soren's face. "YOU THINK YOU CAN INSULT ME IN THIS MANNER? I CHALLENGE YOU TO BATTLE THIS INSTANT, YOU CUNNING, DASTARDLY-"

"KIERAN!" Ike thundered, stepping in front of Soren so as to put him out of the Crimean Knight's reach. "You threaten him again and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"Sir, your staff officer does intend to give away my rivalry to a lady most unworthy-"

"I don't care. You can threaten someone equal to your strength to your heart's desire, but you will not dare to threaten to attack him again." Ike still looked uncharacteristically furious, though the high color in his cheeks was fading a little. "And before you go off shouting accusations, I would appreciate it if you shared with us what your concern is. I am sure Soren would be willing to sort it out if you would just spit it out coherently."

"Of course," Soren answered in a worshipful voice, his eyes shining with a strange tenderness. He did not seem to be at all upset that Kieran had threatened him so unexpectedly; in fact, he looked more pleased than most of the army was ever used to seeing him.

But Kieran did not seem to hear much of anything that Ike and Soren were saying. His gaze was now fixated solely on Titania, a cold and almost murderous look settling over his eyes. "YOU!" he hollered. "YOU! I WARNED YOU ONCE, DEVIL WOMAN, BUT I WILL NOT WARN YOU AGAIN. THE RIVALRY IS MINE! MINE! YOU WILL UNHAND IT AT ONCE!"

"But Soren is right," Titania objected, looking alarmed. "Kieran, your defenses are much higher than mine, and you haven't been sustaining much damage lately-"

"IT MATTERS NOT! YOU WILL NOT STEAL MY RIVAL FROM ME! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

"Uh, Oscar?" Ike whispered urgently to his friend. "I don't get much of what Kieran's saying, but he seems to be using the word 'rival' a lot. Does this have anything to do with you, by any chance?"

Oscar racked his brain for a moment before remembering the Imbue scroll he had given earlier. He slammed his palm against his forehead and cursed softly under his breath, infuriated with himself for letting the situation spiral out of control when it was his actions that had caused it in the first place.

"Kieran!" he yelled over the other knight, who was practically breathing fire at this point. "Just a moment! I have something to say to you."

"YOU WILL FALL TO MY AXE JUST AS THE FERAL BADGER OF- oh. Yes, Oscar?" Kieran broke from his tirade, a goofy grin replacing his infuriated snarl.

"I know I said that scroll marked you as my rival, but I only said that... to get you to... well, never mind." Oscar grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "Titania may need that gift more than you at the moment. I know I can't take back what I said, but I think that you should give it to her anyways. But even if you do, you will always be my true rival, Kieran. Er... if that's what will make you happy, that is."

Kieran looked up eagerly. "Ah ha! So only I will be able to challenge you to a battle of equals in which you shall be crushingly vanquished by unparalleled strength and forever humbled by my power?"

"Uh, that's not how I would describe a battle of equals, but I suppose..."

"And will I alone have sole rights to whatever tokens of rivalry you may give in the future?"

"Sure."

"And will I, Captain Kieran of the most noble Crimean knights, be your rival to the end of days, to be replaced by no one else?"

Oscar sighed helplessly. "I guess there's no other way..."

"HA!" Kieran yelled, pumping his fist in the air and upsetting his chair with a gleeful kick. "Take that, cruel mage and wily knight! Your attempt to thwart my rivalry with Oscar has ended rightfully in your defeat! Instead, you have only drawn the two of us closer together in bitter rivalry, which was the exact opposite of your intent. You will now know to rue the day you ever sought to fool the great Kieran, slayer of-"

"Excuse me while I go somewhere and puke," Soren muttered, tugging on Ike's shirt. "For the love of the Goddess, can we bring this meeting to a close?"

"You don't find this at all charming?" Ike sniggered, listening intently to Kieran's continuing speech.

"Not in the least." Soren closed his eyes and took in a deep breath in order to calm his temper, but when he opened them again, he saw something strange. Titania, an amused and touched smile fluttering on her lips, was leaning forward and slipping the Imbue scroll back into Kieran's pocket. The knight did not notice, but he would quickly realize what happened later, and by then it would be too late to ever convince him into relinquishing the scroll to someone more deserving a second time...

Soren considered for a moment bringing this to Ike's attention, but then he looked at Kieran and Oscar and decided against it. Some things just weren't worth getting in the middle of, and those two were one of them.

A/N: Yeah, I always get RNG raped when it comes to Titania's defenses, so I gave her Kieran's Imbue. Needless to say, I felt incredibly guilty for denying him the gift of Oscar's rivalry, so Kieran, this is my apology to you. Sorry, darling :)