Devil's Wings Interlude – Sibling Rivalry 1
By deus-rasengan2, edited by Trooper1023
An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario. This interlude takes place between Devil's Wings chapters three and four.
"...Run that by me again?"
"I said I want to fight you, Nii-san!" Shinta repeated, his face etched in determination.
Haru blinked as he gazed at his little brother, what had brought this on all of a sudden. He was just relaxing out in the depths of the family yard when Shinta ran up to him and all but demanded a spar.
Haru then shrugged his shoulders "Alright." He could use some entertainment. Plus, who was he to turn down a fight.
Shinta was kneeling on the ground, struggling to regulate his breathing. He had scratches and small bruises on his body, nothing serious, and his shirt and shorts were even more grass-stained than usual. Across from him, Haru stood fully, a single bruise decorating his jaw and no other injuries or signs of strain, aside from his own slightly increased breathing. There were small craters surrounding them, evidence of the match. "One more time!"
Haru sighed. "Come on kid, you're at your end here, and I'm not even trying that hard."
"I..." Shinta grunted as he stood up again. "I can still fight!" Before he could act though, Haru quickly closed the distance between them and swept Shinta's feet. He fell face forward and tried to get up when a weight fell onto his back pinning him to the ground.
"Arrgh!"
"Now..." Haru spoke calmly as he sat on his brother's back to keep him from moving. "I know you like to fight, hell I can sympathize. But what you were showing me out there was not what I know you could do. You got one lucky shot on me, and that was it. This match could have lasted far longer, I know you have the stamina for it, but instead you wasted way too much energy trying to score another hit."
He got up and pulled Shinta up to his feet as well. "So, what's going on?"
Shinta was silent at first, but then looked up to meet his brother's eyes. "You're my stepping stone, Nii-san."
"Say what?" Haru blinked.
"I have to be get strong enough to beat you Nii-san, you're one of the strongest of the older kids and if I can beat you I..." Shinta cut himself off.
"What? What can you...?" Haru then looked into the boy's eyes. He's seen that look before. He would wear it himself when he was determine to protect something or someone. "I see... you want to be strong enough to protect that Nanoha chick right?"
Shinta blushed at his brother's question. "Yes... but that's not all."
Haru blinked again. There was something else?
"I remember a while back, you were talking about how you wanted to become strong enough to fight my Kaa-chan someday. If I become strong enough, I want to spar with Kaa-san too." He then pointed towards his brother. "So if I beat you, I'll be one step closer to her, meaning I can protect everyone better!"
Haru stared at his brother before laughing lightly then ruffling the boy's hair, much to his annoyance. "I think I see now. You've basically done to me what I did to Takeshi back when I was your age." He then nodded while crossing his arms. "Alright, I'll do it. I'll be the final challenge to beat to bring you to the next level."
Shinta grinned, if he could beat his Haru-nii-san, it would prove how strong he was.
Haru then stretched his shoulders "But you're still too young and inexperienced to face me yet. You still have a long way to go to reach my level." He then nodded to the spot they were at. "Tell you what, I know you don't like to wait in such but, you should probably up whatever training you've been doing already. On your sixteenth birthday, we'll have a spar here again and I'll see how far you've come from now to then." He then grinned at his brother. "Gotta say, I'll be looking forward to what you'll have learned then."
Shinta was quick to grin back. "Right! I'll get strong enough in no time so you better be ready!" The two boys then began their trek back towards the manor. "By the way, Nii-san?"
"Yeah?"
"Why is it you want to be so strong yourself?" Haru just smiled as they continued walking.
"I'm protecting those I hold close to me as well. Also..." Haru's eyes narrowed slightly. "I have a promise to keep."
Shinta looked at his brother curiously "A promise?"
Haru nodded. "I need to become strong enough to one day fight someone. He'll probably be my greatest opponent, and I'm not even sure I'll be strong enough to beat him when the time comes. Or if I'll even survive." He whispered the last part. He then returned to his carefree grin. "But I'm looking forward to it all the same!"
Shinta stared at his brother before smiling to him. "You'll have to beat me first if you hope to get that strong."
"Hey! That's my line!" Haru grabbed Shinta in a headlock and gave him a noogie, before hefting him over his shoulder firemen style. That's how Haru and Shinta returned to the Emiya manor, Shinta jokingly complaining about being boy-handled, and the both of them grinning the whole way.
This interlude was written by deus-rasengan2, originally at http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/24/ post #1,184.
His notes: "Hope Shinta wasn't too OC in this. Hope he didn't seem too weak (though you can't really tell based on a fight that had already happened). Still trying to better understand the others to better their interactions with Emiya clan's half blooded vampire."
My response: "I like it! I might have emphasized Shinta's unusual toughness more, but you captured the spirit of both characters very well. I especially like the BRO-moment at the end with the noogie."