It felt as if he was drained from outside. He supported himself on the desk.

Pain. Even more pain. Can't… do… anything.

He shot a quick glance at nearby desks, all the students were already unconscious, and they looked even worse than him. He averted his gaze. He simply couldn't look at his friends tormented by pain.

Passing by students and the teacher, he left the classroom. Just the moment he closed the door behind him…

-TAKE COVER!

A voice resounded, and he crouched as he was told. All his senses were numbed, and his limbs were barely listening to him, so it was all the way more difficult. He heard a whistling sound above him. It reminded him of the encounter he had days before evening. "Why? I didn't want to meddle into this, so why?"

Yet again, there was no time for answering questions no one could answer. He jumped opposite to the direction the slash came from, and stole a quick glance at person who shouted at him. It was a orange headed boy. He seemed to be from the same year as he was. Yet again, Kuroda cursed himself for not being good at remembering names.

-Are you okay? – he asked.

– Yeah, somehow. – answered Kuroda. – I won't question what's going on, but you better give me a good explanation once it's all over. If I'll be alive by then that is.

Kuroda turned to his attacker. It was a beautiful, tall women with long pink hair. She was wearing a protector on her eyes. He wondered how could she fight while being blindfolded. "But this is no problem for them. If she's at least half as powerful as guy from that evening, I don't stand a chance. "

-You stay back, I'll handle her. – Exclaimed the boy with orange hair.

-Do you really think you stand up to this thing? Seems like you've never met one of those.

-Hah, you would be surprised how wrong you are.

Kuroda took a glance at a boy standing behind the woman. It was a student , holding a weird book. He was from this school. If he wasn't wrong, then he was the school girls' idol, but he never was interested in such a thing, and he took pride in it.

-Are we fighting against the guy behind this person? – Kuroda asked.

-Fighting? You sure accommodate well. Not only you've made it out of classroom, but you think about fighting.

-Aren't you the same?

-Well, I'm a special case I think…

-A special case or not, a human remains a human. You won't be able to even scratch this monster!

Kuroda exclaimed in an upraised tone. In contrast to being good at standing his own injuries, he didn't like looking at blood of others. It just made him sick.

Before he knew it, the tall woman was already coming after them. But her original target was clear from just first two hits.

"So she doesn't see me as a danger, huh?" Kuroda thought, a bit annoyed.

Hit after hit, he was forced to watch as his new companion was getting slashed up. But it wasn't ordinary. The parts of body that should fall apart, were brought together by swords growing out of the attacked boy. Finally, after saying something about "not being able to kill him with her weapons", the tall woman gave the boy a kick that sent him flying outside the window.

Kuroda was shocked, but still he didn't lose his cool, and parried the first hit that was directed at him. "Switching targets, huh?" The fight he just witnessed only proved it. He didn't stand a chance. But it would be so, if he would be fighting just a week ago.

-It can't be helped then.

Kuroda stood right in front of his enemy, with a guard full of opening. The woman took this as sign of losing his will to fight, and rushed at him with speed he couldn't possibly avoid. But only if the fight took place one week before, that is.

-Left Arm… Repel!

Kuroda shouted the name he gave his ability. It didn't really matter if he shouted it or not. But if he gave his power a form he was better at using, then the skill was more powerful. To make things simple, mind is better at handling things it doesn't understand if the body knows what to do. And Left Arm Repel was name of putting left arm in front of the body, and concentrating one's will on pushing the enemy backwards.

-!

The tall woman was shocked. After all, he wasn't a magus. He didn't even have any outstanding athletic abilities. So why did he possess such a power?

The air in front of Kuroda's palm distorted, and a wind, or rather not wind, but pure force itself, pushed back everything in it's wake. Kuroda's enemy included.

-Okay, here I go.

He needed to get the hang of using his abilities in order to perform action he was about to do.

-Right Arm… Pull!

The name was pretty easy to be read by enemies, but there was no helping it. A randomly picked pair of words may have been a better choice, but Kuroda simply wouldn't be able to use the proper ability with such a chaotic name.

-Ughh!

Woman was pulled into Kuroda's direction. This was dangerous. If he wanted to stay alive, he should stay back as much as possible, and repel any movement's from woman's side. But he couldn't afford it. His mind was tiring out with each second he used his abilities. So he needed to end this quickly, even if it means defeating far more powerful opponent.

-And now…

The woman was preparing for a killing blow, her dagger in hand.

-Repulse Slash!

He used pulling and repelling energy on the same spot. He was sure what the effect would be. After all, every each of those abilities was working the way it should work in Kuroda's opinion.

The biggest damage was inflicted to the area that was closest to the point of slash. A black line, striking fear into anyone who's seen it, made it's way right through the center of the corridor. But the effect was to be expected. The woman, who was very agile and experienced, avoided the slash in midair, by shooting a dagger to window and pulling herself on the chain attached.

"So all this work was for nothing, huh?" Kuroda expected this result. After all, this was first time he used his abilities when not being in an amok. But there was no time for excuses. It was time to put his ominous abilities and his martial arts into use all at once!

A dagger. Striking into Kuroda's skull, and piercing it's way to the other side. Fortunately, it was only image wrought by killing intent. It was up to him if he will let this image become reality. He realized that only defending and repelling his enemy's attack won't do any good. He wasn't used to this kind of fight, and was tired out just after few seconds. But if he was to choose if he should stay and fight his way out as much as possible, or simply turn his back and die trying to escape, he chose the former. He was this kind of person after all.

Slash on the right. Distorted wall of energy pushing it away from Kuroda. Sonic movement and his enemy is already on the ceiling, planning on killing her prey in one blow. A black line traced above Kuroda's head, marking itself on the spot where tall woman was just half a second ago.

-What are you doing, Rider? Finish this guy off already, for god's sake. – shouted boy taking cover far away.

-He seems to possess some strange powers, I can't take him lightly. – said "Rider".

-You better not, or you're gonna regret it! – shouted Kuroda, as if encouraging himself to push forward no matter what happens.

It was annoying. It was clear he will lose at this rate. But it was simply inevitable truth. He couldn't defeat her, and his only chance of survival was pushing her attacks away as long as possible. He even would be able to fend her off 10 seconds more, if it weren't for the air that sucked his life out. Apparently tired, Kuroda decided to make a run for his enemy's head. It wasn't clever, but it was the best he could come up with in given situation. Pull his enemy, Repel her dagger, Pull one of her limbs, Cut through it's center. He was nearly in amok. Such a simple motion. So little time. So much to be lost, his life included. But he didn't fail. He just didn't succeed.

Forced to retreat, he leaped backwards as far as he could, knowing enemy won't miss this chance and she will come after him. Just as he was preparing for a fatal blow… a blue shadow passed by him.

*Clank*!

Sword clashed into Rider's dagger. Kuroda was still in haze, after exhausting his mind so much. But next to him appeared a person he didn't manage to forget yet. The boy from before, cut up in many places.

-I won't ask how you've managed to survive for so long, but good job. – said the orange haired boy

-Hah, so I'm going to be useless from now on, huh?

-Just don't want you to overdo things.

-Look who's talking, rushing here after a fall from a building.

"But I guess I'm not that different in that matter." Kuroda thought, still remembering his little peaceful walk from before.

-Well, just leave it to us.

-You and yet ANOTHER ominous creature, huh? Just how many of those are going to make their appearance? Really…

-Well, she's saving your life, so be grateful.

-Yeah, yeah, finally met one of those that DOESN'T want to kill me. Talk about luck, huh?

The orange haired boy smirked.

-Well, no time for chit chat if you want to do anything. There's a girls' idol waiting for you just few meters ahead, isn't there? – said Kuroda, smirking back.

-Right, thanks for advice. – said boy, preparing to leave.

-One more thing. Actually… what's your name?

-Emiya Shirou, what about you?

-Kuroda Ichibake, I would be pleased to meet you, if not for these circumstances.

With those words, Kuroda let two people in front of him take care of the situation.

It was over in only 20 seconds. Long, very long 20 seconds, when he had to do his best not to die from suffocating. But just a moment before he was sure he will pass out… the air turned normal, and all irregularity vanished from the school.

Kuroda stood up, and slowly made it closer to the battlefield. Just in time to see Rider piercing her neck with her dagger, letting blood flow out.

-!

He didn't grasp the situation. "What's going on? I know she isn't a human, but this is just to surreal to be true!". Or maybe he passed the boundary between reality and fantasy a long time ago, he thought.

But there was no time to wonder over something so trivial. What was his real problem, was a huge amount of energy forming in front of him. He didn't need to be anyone special to feel it. No matter who you are, if enormous energy is being gathered in front of you, you will know it.

-I'm sorry, I can protect only one person. – said the knight in blue.

He had to manage on his own. Once he grasped the situation he was in, there was no time to escape. He could only stand in place and do his best in surviving.

-That's fine, I didn't do anything to earn protection from you anyway.

After saying that, Kuroda stood behind the knight's back as much as possible. Even if it will be mediocre, it can still change the tide of clash of powers, if the power will be at least slightly reduced by knight's protection.

A large pillar of light is released into the corridor. It felt as if something was galloping at huge speed. But the nature of attacks wasn't what counted. Kuroda's plan wouldn't take advantage of such knowledge anyway.

-Repulse Slash!

He did his best. He gathered the pieces of energy that were still sleeping within his mind, and pushed them out at once!

Pain. That was first thing, aside from blinding light that assaulted Kuroda. He was glad. If he was still capable of feeling pain, then he was alive. After all, pain is only a warning sent to body, alarming when you are being hurt or close to being dead. If he would be on the other side already, his body couldn't care less.

-Ughhh…

Kuroda fell to the ground with a loud *thump*. He, of course, didn't care about such a trivial thing. He was still alive…

-Ichibake-san!

The one who's run to him first was Emiya. That was understandable. There was no one else around, counting the knight in blue out.

-Are you all right?

-I surely am more okay than people in the classrooms. Call an ambulance, and it could turn out just right. – after saying that, he felt as if he could peacefully fall asleep. But there was one thing left to be said, a thing that bugged him more than the pain itself.

-Oh, and by the way, I don't enjoy being cried over by a guy… That's a shame there are no girls around to do that kind of thing…