Quitclaim: I own nothing.
Lawyer Tom: Just say disclaimer.
No. My motto this week is to confuse people by saying synonymous words that mean the same, but you'll have to read the dictionary to figure out what they mean.
Lawyer Tom: Aren't you just being an asshole?
Nay! Ne'er have I ever oppugn you but today, I must fracas thou for thou have called me an ass with a hole!
Lawyer Tom: I didn't say you are an as- You know what. I gave up last chapter. I'm not going into this again.
Haha! This is my coup! I have won a fracas against thou, and now thee must bea-th my bitch!
Lawyer Tom: That's it. I'm suing you.
Ha- Wait what? No. Tom, you wouldn't dare. I've got nothing left!
Lawyer Tom: See you in court.
Tom! Tom! No please! Toooooom!
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. I am on fire today. I had just finished editing chapter 10/11 and now I'm writing a new one. Wooo!
To answer a question. I have no set update times. I just write whatever story I have fixated on at the moment. But keep in mind, when I do write a chapter for a particular story, I tend to stick to that story for four or five chapters before I switch over to my other ones. Which means that my update times vary upon my mood. I'm not abandoning any fics though, I'm just more focused on the others ones.
Also, this chapter might look like filler, since well, it needs some character building. Don't worry, it won't last ten chapters like last time. And due to some cooking in the middle of this, I would like to ask reviewers to refrain from pointing that out, not every part of the story is meant to be exciting, there has to be some form of character interactions as well. Please, just bear with it for now.
Also, Ling is just as socially inept as Houki. The fact that she serves in a restaurant only makes her slightly more extroverted than Houki.
XxX
She quietly watched from behind the partition that separated the Academy's field for IS practice and the bleachers of the stadium that housed said field.
Her eyes darted towards the blonde haired Cecilia Alcott. She was panting heavily as her tutor had just finished drilling her with exercises that would make anyone normal man or woman cringe at the intensity. She wondered if this was how he kept himself in shape, and after that thought, wondered just what makes him train as hard as he was training Cecilia.
He had first, made Cecilia stretch. A normal thing to do when you were about to train, nothing out of the ordinary there. But after stretching, came the running. Yes, running, not jogging, not walking. But full on running in a sprint around the oval inside of the stadium. Two laps, he had made Cecilia Alcott run two laps while full on sprinting around the entire stadium. And considering the track length of the stadium's field itself was over 150 meters, it was amazing how he looked so casual telling her to run.
Cecilia protested at first, but after a few quick words (words that she could understand, as she had some practice lip reading), she had slumped and proceeded to run at full speed. She was surprised however, at the fact that Cecilia had began to breath raggedly not even half of the entire length of the stadium. So she wasn't entirely surprised to see her object of interest tell her to stop after just one lap. He had then given her a break, a six minute break from what his mouth had said, but she had counted, and it was more like a six minute and thirty second break.
After that break, he had told her to hit him. Cecilia was confused at first, as she didn't know what he meant by that, but he only repeated his words, he told her to hit him. She had made a move of summoning her IS, but he had raised a hand to stop her. She actually had to squint to understand what he was saying, and after reading his lips, she had come to the conclusion that he wanted Cecilia to hit him without using her IS.
From that point on, for the past twenty-two minutes and fifty five seconds, Cecilia did nothing but try and hit him with sloppy punches and kicks. But though she had started extremely sloppy and had left openings that actually made her cringe, she had steadily improved. As her energy drained, she sought out more efficient ways to use her punches and kicks so that she wouldn't expend more energy than usual. She was slightly confused as to why he was teaching her to hit him in a melee when he knew that Cecilia was more of a long-range type of fighter, but she quickly figured out that he was actually making Cecilia able to fight hand to hand. It would translate over when she uses her IS, and that in turn wouldn't make her so susceptible to getting jumped over and hit behind.
She had also noted that on the fifteenth minute, Houki had come to watch. She was at first, put-off at the rather mundane teaching methods Shirou had employed. But some quick words that looked awfully like he had said 'You thought me this way too', made her blush and look away in embarrassment. From that point on, all Houki had done was watch. Though from the way she saw her sheepish face, she guessed that Houki really had nothing else to say on the matter at all.
Following five minutes after Houki however, on the twentieth minute mark, was the Class Rep of Class Two of the first years.
She had heard much about Lingyin Huang. She also knew her personally to some extent, as her brother was actually friends with her for some time after Houki had moved away.
Lingyin (or Rin as her brother liked to call her), was one of the candidates to represent China. The overpopulated country had made moves to improve there IS designs and their pilots, as such, a dozen or so pilots and IS designs had been made in the span of a year.
All of them however, were trashed almost as soon as they appeared.
Lingyin was one of the lucky few that actually managed to make her piloting skills known. Add to the fact that her IS was a third-generation one, and the Chinese government found themselves a candidate to represent their country.
She had raised an eyebrow at seeing her in the stadium, but otherwise, didn't give it anymore thought as she watched Lingyin summon her IS and do the basic maneuvers. But though basic, the way she made her IS twist in midair and fly at obscene rates would make any casual observer raise their eyebrows at the seemingly casual and easy way she maneuvered her IS. The cumbersome looking Shenlong would only make it even more impressive.
Not her though, she personally thought she looked clunky and absolutely vulnerable with the way she was moving her IS.
And apparently, so did Cecilia's tutor. From the way his eyes darted every now and then towards the still-in-the-air Shenlong, she guessed that he was actually scrutinizing it for any weakness, anything that would seem out of place for an IS that maneuvered so well.
His scrutinizing had lasted for the next three minutes, his eyes darting towards the Shenlong each time Cecilia moved back to get some space in between them. His head was shifting slightly every time, and she could faintly make out his eyes darting over towards the Shenlong's form every few seconds he could.
Normally, this type of behavior would be considered rude to his opponent, but as it stood, Cecilia was too preoccupied with the thought of actually hitting him that she didn't even notice him not paying attention to her.
If it were her against him, she would have planted him face first on the dirt the moment he had first taken his eyes off her.
As it stood however, she had to suppress a sigh as Cecilia came at him again, and how his eyes immediately took the more direct threat into his mind.
Cecilia swept her right arm in an attempt to hit Shirou on the side of his head, an action that was easily ducked under. And as the arm moved over his head, her arms bristling as she felt his hair brush against it, she tried to raise her right knee to hit him square on the jaw, an action that was dodged by him suddenly twisting slightly to the left before he moved closer to her body.
The action caught Cecilia off-guard, but otherwise undettered as she planted her right foot slight forward on the ground, before she then moved her left arm to try and punch her opponents face. But again, this was countered by the sudden raising of her opponents arm to block the punch. She saw the fist connect with his forearm, before he rolled with the force of the punch and backpedaled slightly.
She frowned, that was what happened when you fight distracted. You get hit. She was also slightly surprised at the strength Cecilia had in her punch. If it made him backpedal, it must have been surprisingly strong.
She saw him raise a hand to stop Cecilia from going at him again. She watched as his lips began to move as he spoke to her. Telling her that she had done well and that it had only taken her twenty five minutes to hit him.
Twenty-four minutes and twenty-two seconds actually.
"Still watching him Chi-chan?" She didn't startle as she heard her friend's voice. She only continued to watch the exchange between Cecilia and Shirou, with occasionally Houki adding her two-cents every now and then.
"You know if you like him, you should just say so. He seems like the kind of guy you have to be obvious about, or else he'll miss out all the signals." Her friend teased from behind her. She didn't respond. "Better hurry though, looks like Cecilia-chan might be gunning for him. And also Houki-chan as well." She felt her friend shift from beside her. "But did you notice Houki seems more... morose then usual?"
Of course she did. Ever since that day a month and a half ago, after she had said what was on her mind, Houki seemed to always be in deep thought whenever she was alone. Of course, that persona disappeared every time Shirou had appeared, but still, the fact that she looked morose and contemplative after he had told her that Shirou had killed before couldn't be missed.
"Oh! And also Huang-chan!" She frowned at the name. "She's been following Shikkun around for so long now. Ever since she figured out that he wasn't Ikkun, she's been observing him every time he was in a public place." Her friend explained. That was news to her, news that, while interesting, didn't help in the matter of what she was actually thinking about.
"But I guess you aren't thinking about love lives now, are you Chi-chan?" Again, she didn't respond. She only let her friend continue talking. It wasn't really rude, as the two of them shared a bond that made it impossible to be rude to each other. But sometimes, it unnerved even her how much her friend seemed to understand how her own mind works. She guessed it worked both ways though.
She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the trio interact with each other. She watched as Shirou nodded to something that Houki had said, before he turned towards Cecilia who was eagerly awaiting what he had to say. Her frown deepened at his interactions with the two women. There was nothing unnatural about it, in fact, it felt like he was actually enjoying the interaction with them for the most part. But a nagging feeling in her stomach told her that yes, he may be smiling and trying to look normal, but there was something wrong with it... like he was only acting on autopilot. She couldn't quite place it, but usually, her gut feelings were right on the money.
"Don't think too much about it Chifuyu." She raised an eyebrow as she turned to regard her friend, she almost never used her full first name. "There are some things that you just aren't meant to know."
Her frown deepened as she turned back towards the trio. Only to see that two women making their way out of the stadium. One walking steadily whilst the other had a slight tiredness in her steps.
"Oh!" She turned towards her friend, and saw that she was pointing towards where Huang had been doing her maneuvers. She saw that Huang had finished her routine, and was now making her way towards Shirou. "Looks like we'll get a confession!"
She ignored her friends rambling. Whatever was going to happen now, it was obvious it wasn't a confession of some kind. She guessed it had something to do with Huang's stalking of Shirou for the past weeks, but decided to just opt for the wait and see approach.
As soon as Huang had reached ground-level, she had dismissed her IS before she proceeded to make her way over towards the waiting Shirou. She was mildly surprised to note that Huang… hadn't really grown much. From her vantage point, she noted that Huang would only be at her chest level, and she was significantly shorter than Shirou as well.
She carefully watched as a conversation between the two began to take place. She carefully read their lips, and was thoroughly disappointed to say that they weren't discussing anything that might actually make figuring out Shirou faster. It was just Shirou asking Lingyin on why she was following him around for no apparent reason, and Lingyin outright denying that fact by just saying it was coincidence they were always in the same place.
Of course, Shirou couldn't really refute her, as all he really had going for him was that Ling was always where he was. But that didn't deter him from asking her to not be there when he was. Which made the conversation go in circles as Lingyin denied again, and had said that he was there when she was going to be there.
"Wow~! Not even a day in, and they're already having their lover's quarrel. You better step up your game Chi-chan, Huang-chan might just snatch him from right under your nose."
She let out an audible sigh. Right. "What are you still doing here?" She meant it as both her being near her right now, and why she was still in the Academy. She then turned back towards the conversation between Shirou and Lingyin, but her mind was still on her friend.
Tabane for her part only turned and smiled at her. "I can't be here Chi-chan?" Tabane answered her flippantly. She sighed at her friend's rather laid back approach to her sternness.
"That doesn't answer my question." She pointed out. She watched as her friend sighed before she started shaking her head. Tabane turned back towards the field where Shirou was still talking to Huang, before she answered.
"I'm still calibrating Shikkun's IS." She answered with the barest hint of anxiety in her voice. She was honestly surprised that the normally bubbly and nonsensical Tabane actually felt some anxiety over something her genius had created. It was… out of character for her.
"I just…" Tabane trailed as she sighed. She raised an eyebrow at the act, now she was sighing? "I just feel like I'm missing something really obvious."
"What do you mean by that?" She asked with the barest amount of curiosity in her voice as she turned back towards the field herself. She watched idly as Shirou spoke with Huang, before the latter burst out into laughter. An act that garnered her suspicion, but otherwise, only made her mildly curious as to what they were talking about.
"I feel like I've made a mistake with the Kajiya." She blinked once, then twice, then three times, before she finally registered what her friend had told her.
She turned to regard her friend, but was only greeted by a half-smile that seemed to be more demeaning than hopeful. "You heard right Chi-chan. I just admitted that I might have made a mistake."
She scrutinized her friend, trying to discern whether or not she was telling the truth or only giving her half-truths. "Again, what do you mean by that? You're not one to just openly admit your mistakes. You usually try and mask them with supposed brilliance."
Her words seemed to spur some protest from Tabane, as she pouted the same pout she always did when she was put-off. "Ohh! You know as well as I do that I do things on a schedule."
She couldn't resist letting a small smile appear on her face. "But you're schedule almost always get pushed back by your 'brilliant' mind." She emphasized the word brilliant, and that only made her friend pout even more.
"And now Chi-chan is teasing me. Wahhh! Why do all my friends and family like hurting my feelings so much?!" Tabane mocked cried as she melodramatically began to wipe the tears from her eyes.
She could only let out a quiet sigh at her friend's antics. "Back on topic," She said, and Tabane immediately perked up. Her own eyes cast one more glance towards the two people still on the field. Before she sighed and turned back towards her friend.
"There's just something… missing from it." Tabane further explained. "Something that should make it whole, just isn't there. I've done my best to make it as compatible with Shikkun, but I feel like there's just something inherently wrong with what I've done with the Kajiya."
She frowned. "Has he been complaining that something is wrong with the thing?" She asked as she turned towards Tabane. Who only shook her head.
"No, not at all. In fact, he's been saying that it works like a charm. That there's nothing wrong with it and he's asking why I'm still working on it." Tabane stated as she let out a long sigh. "Maybe I'm over thinking things. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. But at the same time, I can't complete my other projects until I figure out what exactly is wrong with what I did."
"Maybe there isn't anything wrong with it," She supplied. "Maybe you've just hit your upper plateau on the Infinite Stratos." She didn't say limit, as she knew that the term would garner negativity from her friend. Besides, she didn't believe there were limits either, merely plateaus that were needed to be crossed.
Tabane shook her head again. "No, I'm working on things several margins better than the Kajiya right now – at least in terms of power –, but I really feel, and I emphasize, feel, that there's just something inherently missing with the Kajiya. And I can't get rid of this nagging feeling no matter how much I work on it." Tabane crossed her arms over her chest as she gripped her upper-arms in both hands. "I've been working on it for almost two months, but that still doesn't change the fact that I can't find what it's missing."
She furrowed her eyebrows at the display of weakness in front of her. Normally Tabane wasn't so insecure, she usually had a calm (albeit imaginative) mind when it came to her works. To see her so disgruntled made her slightly sympathetic to the girl.
Only just though.
"Then keep working on it." She said as she turned back towards the stadium. She noted that the conversation seemed to have taken a lighter note as Huang had begun laughing again, and Shirou had a small smile on his face that was almost unseen from her vantage point. "Keep working till you find it. I know you, you may have one of the most infuriatingly annoying personalities this side of the planet and more, but you almost always have a calm mind when you're making your next project. If you feel like something is wrong, then almost certainly something is wrong." She stated as she watched the two teens nod to each other before they went their separate ways.
She sighed before she turned back to her friend. The two teens' interaction hadn't really helped her much. She had missed most of their conversation because she was talking with her friend. She was slightly perturbed that Tabane had that kind of effect on her, but she accented to it as Tabane was just the kind of person you can't ignore. She meant that both in a good way, and a bad way.
"You trust me that much Chifuyu?" Tabane asked, she paused for a second, before she nodded, albeit slowly.
"You've tested my patience for awhile now, and every time you've done so, you've been rather flippant with the way you do it. Anyone other than me would have long left you alone, but I know you Tabane." She locked eyes with her friend. "You're the most annoying friend anyone can have, but you're also someone that knows what they're doing. So seeing you like this, so insecure, so perturbed, it doesn't suit you. Keep moving, keep working, you'll find out what's wrong eventually." She never answered her question, but it wasn't really needed.
Tabane smiled at her this time. "Thanks Chi-chan." Tabane nodded her head at her. "I'll keep working then, but that means most of my projects are going to go on hold." Tabane warned, before she nodded.
It wasn't like the world was in any hurry to actually see what Tabane has in store. They were all too busy with their own projects anyway.
"Oh and Chi-chan?" She looked up at her friend again. The smile that she was so accustomed to seeing was now back on her face. "They said they would exchange recipes tomorrow."
As she finished saying her piece, Tabane turned and started walking away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an IS that's missing something to see to." Tabane excused herself as she trotted away. Leaving her with thoughts of recipes and two teens. The previous serious conversation now on the back of her mind in favor of more intel she could gather.
Now, just where would they meet?
Mechanized Magus
XxX
The difference between Cecilia and Lingyin was certainly large now that he had actually spoken to the Chinese woman.
Whereas Cecilia had at first openly been hostile and completely antagonistic against him when they had first talked, Lingyin hadn't been any of those. Their talk yesterday had told him as much.
Turns out, she was only comparing him with Ichika, a name that had repeated itself multiple times before whenever he had talked with Houki about her past. Though for the past few weeks, it hadn't been as prominent as when they first started talking about their pasts.
Hmm, now that he thought about it. His 'past' was the general time when he was eleven years old and living with Kiritsugu. Houki's had been when she was between the ages of seven and eight. A rather large discrepancy to be sure, but he guessed that it really couldn't be helped. He remembered almost nothing before his preteen years, and his earliest memory was when he had been in the Fire. Something that really wasn't part of the conversation when someone asked what their childhood was like.
Though she had admitted that she was comparing him with Ichika, the fact that she had been following him around for some time was still in the air. He had pointed that out, but she had merely brushed him off by laughing, confirming that she had indeed been following him around. What was worse however, was the fact that she didn't bother hiding that fact.
That had honestly made him slightly exasperated with her rather… robust personality.
He had asked her why she was interested in following him around, but she only told him what she had told him earlier, he was comparing him to Ichika. And it was at that point that he could at least make out a rough image of what Ichika was like. He was either a very good friend, or was someone that had imprinted onto Houki's – and now Lingyin's – minds when they were kids. Regardless of the situation however, he had to deal with being compared with Ichika.
He had asked her why it was important to differentiate between him and Ichika, but Lingyin had only said that it was 'to make sure' that the image of Ichika wasn't tainted.
Needless to say, a flash of what Sakura sometimes looked like actually crossed his mind as Lingyin had said that. Which unnerved him. Greatly.
He had then asked her to stop stalking him, which she agreed on. She had then told him that she was now sure that him and Ichika were two different people, but were both generally nice. She had even commented that he was nicer since she had observed him actively trying to help around the Academy when he could.
He yawned as he turned the corner. Now that he thought about helping, he remembered that one of his classmates – Kisaragi Yuno – had asked him for help regarding a broken toaster in her room. He should probably get to that later this evening, after dinner but before bedtime.
Back to the previous day however, Lingyin had said that she'd apologize by cooking for him. Which actually made him narrow his eyes as the experience of teaching Cecilia and Houki how to cook was still relatively fresh on his mind.
He had joked to Lingyin and asked if she wanted lessons from him, which only made her narrow her eyes in a display of annoyance.
"I happen to work in a restaurant. I believe that I'm more capable cooking than you are at teaching me."
He raised an eyebrow at her challenge, but didn't let himself get riled up. He was good at cooking (as stated by most of the women in his life), but he really couldn't compare to someone that actually works in a restaurant and cooked on a daily basis over fifty plus meals.
When he had said as such, Lingyin had flushed in embarrassment at being praised, even though he hadn't actually complimented her and had only stated a fact. She had then offered if they wanted to exchange recipes, to which he agreed when she had said that she cooked in a (surprise) Chinese restaurant in China.
He had offered some Japanese dishes that he was sure he could make in a level comparable to restaurants, and Lingyin had offered to teach him how to cook sweet and sour chicken and Chinese style fried rice.
They had agreed to meet in the homeroom kitchen that the Academy had on the third floor of the main building that housed the classes after classes, she would get permission from a teacher, and he was supposed to bring the ingredients. She would pay for the expenses that she would use as well.
She had then said her good-bye, before taking one more jab at him as she said that he should be prepared, she wasn't a merciful teacher in regards to cooking. All he did was smile and watch her leave after that exchange. He was pretty sure what she had just said was in jest.
He frowned slightly, now that he thought about it. He had gotten a good look at how Lingyin had been using her IS yesterday. He could at least say that she was on par with Cecilia in regards to controlling her IS. But that was about all he really got out of it. He didn't know what kind of weapons it used, nor what type of combat IS it was.
He was also slightly disappointed that Cecilia hadn't at least stayed and watched some of Lingyin's maneuvers. She was a potential opponent in the battle between classes, all intel she could garner from her potential opponents would help her immensely in the long run. Though he had caught sight of Cecilia casting fleeting glances as Lingyin passed over their heads in her maneuvers, that didn't compare to actually watching her.
Not that he could talk, his watching had caused his focus to falter and that had forced him to block one of Cecilia's attacks with his body.
That was the gist of what had transpired yesterday as he trained Cecilia. And so now, all he really had to do was just get to his last class of the day, wait for it to end, and make his way towards the homeroom kitchen and learn two recipes whilst teaching two others. He had already placed the ingredients needed for the cooking session in the refrigerator in the homeroom kitchen, and thus, he didn't need to go back to his room and grab them. He would then make his way to the stadium for another day of lessons with Cecilia.
Yeah, it felt like it was going to be another normal day.
That is, until he spotted a head of sky blue hair. It was brief, as the owner of the head of hair had turned a corner. He immediately made to follow. "Wait!" He shouted as he jogged towards the corner where the woman had disappeared into. He realized that he had just passed by his classroom, but otherwise, didn't pay much attention to it. Class wouldn't start for another five minutes anyway.
He turned the corner, and was immensely glad that the woman had heard him and had raised an eyebrow in question at his shouting.
"Yes?" She asked, her pale blue eyebrows rising in question as she turned to fully face him. He noted that she wore a vest over her school uniform that gave her an almost mature outlook, had it not been for the fact that she seemed to be smiling coyly at him – almost like a fox now that he thought about it – then he would have mistaken her for someone that was no nonsense.
He also noted that her hair seemed… shorter than when he had last saw her, also she seemed taller. He mentally shrugged, he could be wrong, it had been a month and a few weeks since he had seen her in the library.
He shifted his school suitcase forward, before he opened it and began to rummage around for the book that he had borrowed for her. "You wanted to borrow this book from the library right?" He said as he finally grabbed the book with the picture of a red and blue robot posing on the cover of it.
The woman however, only raised an eyebrow at his question. "Y'know," She began as she adopted an almost teasing look. "If you're trying to pick me up, I wouldn't suggest using a kid's book to start a conversation."
He tilted his head in confusion. "But weren't you the one I saw in the library last month? You were reaching out for this book." He insisted as he pointed a finger to the book.
The girl gave him a blank stare. "If I wanted to borrow that book, why do you still have it?" She asked. It was a valid question, something that he had no valid answer to.
"Well, I uhh." He paused as he thought of the reason why it was still on his person. She was right actually, he had been coming back to the library every week ever since and had kept borrowing the book. Of course, he had also looked for her in the library whenever he was there, but he hadn't since her there at all. So he had kept borrowing the book. "I guess I just wanted to give it to you personally." He shrugged. A thought suddenly came into his mind, and he immediately acted upon it. "You just ran out on me when I was about to give you the book. That gave me the impression that I offended you or something, and I thought reserving the book for you was a good way to say sorry."
It was a feeble excuse, but it was also valid. He was honestly confused as to why she had run out on him after he had made his presence known beside her.
"I don't seem to remember being here last month though." The woman replied as she put a finger to the side of her head in a thinking pose. "I swear I thought I was in Russia. Maybe I slept-walked all the way back for a day and wanted to read a children's book." The woman smiled teasingly at him.
He cocked his head to the side. He wanted to ask 'Are you sure you were in Russia?' But that would have been in bad taste, of course she would be sure. She was there after all. But then, it didn't make sense. The woman looked like the woman he had seen, her hair was the most prominent feature, and she had the exact same hue. But then again, there were some discrepancies as well, such as her being taller than he first thought, and her having slightly shorter hair. And he could have sworn she wore glasses as well.
Before he could get further into his thoughts however, a sudden tugging on his shirt made him turn to his left, where another head of sky blue hair greeted him.
"Imouto!" The woman he had been talking to – the one with the vest – suddenly shouted as she literally glomped the smaller woman that had been tugging on his shirt. He quietly noted that the older looking woman was faster than she seemed, and filed that information away for later.
"Imouto?" He asked confusion probably evident on his face as he stared at the scene in front of him.
The supposed younger sister was busy trying to worm her way out of the older sister's sudden hug. Now that he got a good look at the younger sister, she looked much closer to the woman he had seen a month ago in the library. Glasses were there, her hair was longer, and her stature was just right.
"N-Nee-san! Please!" The younger sister tried to pry off the older woman, which only resulted in the older woman tightening her grip on her.
"I take it that you're the one that caught the eye of our only male IS pilot?" The older woman asked as she let out a squeal of delight. "My little sister is growing up! She has suitors now! Oh what do I do when she becomes totally independent and won't need my help anymore! Oh woe is me!" The older woman melodramatically groaned. But as she finished groaning, she suddenly turned and faced her sister again. "But you have nice taste imouto. He's certainly a keeper if he's so devoted to actually meeting you! As advice from sister to sister, I offer you one piece of wisdom! Be aggressive!"
He quietly watched as the older sister gave the younger sister 'sage' advice that involved snatching him up and becoming her boyfriend. Don't get him wrong, he was flattered that she thought he was someone good enough for her younger sister, but damn. Telling her younger sister to keep him on a leash – in bed he might add – only made him regret ever going near the older sister in the first place.
"Nee-san!" The younger finally snapped as she shouted. But almost after that, she put a hand to her mouth as if in disbelief that she had shouted at all. She began looking around in a panic, but most of the students had gone back inside their classrooms, so the hallway was relatively empty save for them and some that were making their way to the bathrooms for a last minute break.
The younger sister's outburst seemed to placate the older somewhat, as she only looked on with a small smile on her face as she let go of the younger. "Maa maa, no need to shout. I'm right next to you, you know?"
"B-but y-you were the one that kept pestering me." The younger said in a voice that he could barely hear. He had to strain his ears slightly to hear the tail end of her sentence, but he did detect the faintest bits of stuttering in them as well.
"Don't say that my loving is pestering!" The older said in a chipper tone. "Say that it is excessively loving!" Or in other words, pestering.
The younger willfully ignored the older's words, before she suddenly turned to face him. She seemed to shrink as his gaze fell upon her, but otherwise, she stepped forward and held out her hand expectantly. He only gave her a raised eyebrow in question.
"T-t-the book… P-please." She had said in a low voice. He gave her a small smile. Though her actions were rather rude at first glance, she seemed to have exerted a great deal of effort to even have outstretched her hand towards him. Speaking even seemed like a chore to her from the way her tone of voice suggested.
He quickly placed the book on the younger woman's hands. "So you were the one I saw in the library last time." He said with a small smile. "I was surprised you took off as I-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as the woman had suddenly turned around and began to walk hastily away from him.
He made to call out to her, but she suddenly turned and entered a classroom. The entire situation left him speechless at the rudeness of it all. He looked up at the classroom number, and was surprised to see that she was the same year as him. 1-4, that was her homeroom.
"Ah," He turned towards the older sister, who now sported an apologetic smile on her face as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry about that, she doesn't really have much tact and she's unbelievably shy." The older sister explained before she bowed slightly. He was honestly surprised at seeing the older sister apologize for the younger's mistake. And he couldn't help but see Rin and Sakura for a second.
"Its fine," He dismissed with a wave of his hands. "Though I kind of wish she had answered my question… wait, she didn't even hear it." He amended. The younger woman had made no mention of actually answering his question, and she didn't even say she heard it in the first place.
"Again, I must apologize. She really is too shy for her own good. I would like to make it up to you, but I have classes right now." The older sister amended. "If you don't have plans later…?" The woman trailed the question, but he only shook his head.
"Sorry. I've got plans already. Thanks for the offer though, it's not really needed. I just wanted to give the book to your sister." He shrugged before he turned around, prepared for that to be the end to their conversation.
"Hang on," He stopped and turned around as the older sister called out to him. "I never properly introduced myself, and my sister as well. It's the least I can do to apologize for my sister's rather blatant disregard for tact and manners." The woman smiled at him as she reached out a hand in the western way of introduction. "My name is Tatenashi Sarashiki. Second year, and president of the student council. Nice to meet ya." She grinned at him as he almost did a double take at her words.
"Though the student council president has hair that's sky blue."
He remembered Houki's words from a month ago, when he had first told her about the runaway blue haired woman. He vaguely wondered how his brain can retain the most minor of conversations, but was unable to remember crucial details in the most untimely manners, before he let the matter drop entirely. No use picking at his own brain. He had Rin to do that for him.
He composed himself, and finally reached out. "Emiya Shirou, nice to meet you Sarashiki-san." He said politely with an equally polite smile. Tatenashi however, just waved her hands dismissively.
"Call me Tatenashi. Sarashiki-san is my father." She said with a small smile. "And my sister that had rudely taken the book you had been reserving for her without a thank you is called Kanzashi. Don't hold it against her though." She smiled crudely yet also teasingly. Her words told him to hold it against Kanzashi, yet at the same time, to not to. He guessed it was just Tatenashi teasing him.
"No harm done really. I'm just glad I was able to help her with her book." He said truthfully as he turned around and made his way back to his own classroom.
"I'll make sure imouto-chan says thanks to you next time." He heard Tatenashi, he simply raised a hand in a lazy way of saying he got the message.
He slowly made his way back to his classroom, bag lighter, and his mood significantly better now that he got to finish helping Kanzashi.
XxX
"Why are you following me?" He regarded his two tails as he made his way to the homeroom kitchen. The two tails that happen to be Cecilia and Houki on either side of him.
"Might as well, since we'll be meeting up later." Cecilia said from his right. He regarded her with a raised eyebrow, before he shrugged and turned towards Houki on his left. The woman couldn't look him in the eye and turned away from him almost instantly.
"I-I just want to spend time with my friend." She said quietly. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't been spending time with Houki. Barring the abrupt cooking lesson a few days ago, the only time he actually spent time with Houki was when they went to and fro from their classes. That honestly made him feel bad, he could have at least made time for her. But apparently between helping his schoolmates, discussing his IS with her sister Tabane, and generally just classes, he didn't have the time.
"Oh." He said almost as quiet as Houki. He stopped walking before he scratched the back of his head rather awkwardly. "Sorry about that Houki. I've been so busy the past month that I almost never spent time with you." He apologized before he sighed. "Hopefully, it's not something permanent. I've just been busy with your sis-" He caught himself as he remembered that Cecilia was still in their vicinity. Though Cecilia seemed to already have an inkling of an idea of who he had been talking about, but regardless, openly saying that Shinonono Tabane was on the island was not something he wanted to let out. Why? Simple, Tabane Shinonono was a name that was known in almost all the corners of the world. Even in the Clock Tower. She had also been notoriously hard to track down, by both the mundane world and the Magus Association. To suddenly have a piece of information – even if it was a rumor- would turn the entire Academy into a big investigation ground. This would mean that news casters from around the world would go here, scientists asking for Tabane would also, and most troublesome of all, Mages that were looking for Tabane would all come here. Something that didn't sit well with him, as he too was on the run from the Association.
Well, from someone in the Association.
"My mechanic-" He finally thought of the correct word to use. "For my IS. She's been looking at what's wrong with it, even after I keep telling her that there's nothing wrong with it in the first place." He said with a slightly exasperated tone.
He was sugar-coating it. Tabane seemed to have an obsession now with his IS, trying to look for what was wrong with it. He kept telling her that there was nothing wrong with it, and he felt nothing from the IS every time he got in it. Her response was simple.
"That's the problem. You feel nothing."
She had then turned back to his IS, squinting her eyes as she tried to look for what was wrong again, her bunny-ears flopping down on both sides of her head as she concentrated on the task on hand.
Honestly, it made him raise an eyebrow in question. Just what did she mean by that?
"Anyway," He said suddenly before he took a hurried step forward and turned to both Houki and Cecilia. "If you guys want to come with me, I won't stop you." He said. Causing both women to smile up at him. "But all I'm doing is exchanging recipes. Honestly, if Lingyin doesn't want you guys there, then you'll just have to wait outside the kitchen." He finished as he turned around. There, he had warned them both. He knew how some chefs got in regards to their recipes, and to some, they would even take their knowledge to the grave. He just told them that if Lingyin didn't want them there, they could simply wait outsi-
He realized that both Houki and Cecilia had stopped walking beside him. He turned around, and saw them both a distance away, their eyes showing confusion and some sort of emotion that he really couldn't comprehend seeing on their faces.
He would have said jealousy, but that wasn't it… right?
"Lingyin?" "Huang?" Both women finally said before they turned towards each other and gave each other a nod in understanding. He suddenly felt very small as both women turned to face him, before they started making their way towards him, their faces steeled and their gait confident.
He took a step back to try and regain his composure, but that only made them come at him faster. He wanted to turn tail and run right there, but he knew that would be a very bad idea. So instead, he calmly waited for the two to reach him, his hands opening and closing as he felt it start sweating.
Finally, they reached him, and then they both gave him a questioning glare. "Why are you exchanging recipes with the class 2's representative?" It was Cecilia who had asked the question.
"Err," He began. "Because she wanted to apologize?" His statement came out more like a question. A question that made Houki look at him in alarm.
"What did she do to you?" She asked, suddenly gushing over him as she looked him up and down for any nonexistent wounds. He tried to wave her off, but she wouldn't have any of it.
"Nothing!" He suddenly said. "She's been following me for a few weeks now an-" He stopped himself as he palmed his face. Great.
"She's been what?!" Houki exclaimed, the disbelief in her tone made him slightly nervous, not for him, but for the blonde that was now fidgeting right next to her.
"She's been stalking you? Since when?" Houki pressed, her eyebrows furrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest. Honestly, when Houki got like this, she was both scary, and extremely suffocating. But he couldn't blame her really, she didn't look like she was one to openly socialize, so her group of friends might as well be only him and Cecilia right now. And he couldn't blame the other women in the academy, Houki can be suffocating, she can also be quite demanding and extremely strict when she means to. But in his opinion, that was what made Houki, well, Houki. And besides, he was used to that kind of attitude.
"She hasn't been stalking me per se," He tried to defend Lingyin, but found himself caught like a deer in the headlights. That was exactly what she had done. Hmm, maybe a change of topic… no, that wouldn't work. Houki can be stubborn and extremely sharp as well, changing the subject will only make her press even more. Besides, he couldn't lie to her… But he couldn't condemn Lingyin either… What to do, what to do.
"Well, she has been following me around for awhile." He admitted, which caused Houki to bristle, whilst Cecilia look on with narrowed eyes. He raised a hand to stop them from running off. "However, in her defense, she had a valid reason." He continued. "She was surprised when we bumped into each other in the hallway. She thought the male IS pilot was someone else, and she'd been busy comparing me with who she thought it was. I think she enrolled into this school when she heard who the news thought it was now that I think about it, the timeline is right, and sh-"
"What does Ichika have to do with this?" He froze mid-speech. He turned to Houki, who now had a deep scowl on her face as the name of her childhood friend was out in the open.
Wait… Now that he thought about it, Houki liked to listen to the news before bed. The television in their room being the means to do so… Crap.
He sighed. Guess there was no getting out of this. "Err," He began whilst scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I think Lingyin knows Ichika-san." He finally said.
He waited for Houki's reaction, anything to indicate what she would do. He watched as Houki's face scrunched up slightly, but she didn't say anything.
Finally, after a few seconds, Cecilia spoke up. "Uhm," She began tentatively. "Who is Ichika?" She finally asked. Well, at least not everyone that he knew in the Academy that he maintained regular contact to knew about Ichika. But still, Houki knew that he was talking about Ichika since she listened to news. Maybe the same couldn't be said about Cecilia, either way. At least he wasn't alone now, Cecilia now joined the 'I don't know who Ichika is' club.
He shrugged his shoulders as he turned to regard Cecilia. "He's apparently a childhood friend of both Houki, and Lingyin. Though as to why they don't know each other…" He trailed off, letting the sentence finish itself as he turned back to Houki. Who was now sporting a deep and thoughtful frown on her face.
"Maybe Houki-chan and Lingyin-san were different kinds of friends?" Cecilia supplied. He turned back his gaze to her and gave her a questioning stare. What does she mean by- "Maybe Houki-chan was a school friend, and Huang-san was a neighborhood friend?" Ah, now he got it. But it was still rather confusing for her to differentiate friends. To him, a friend is a friend, no two ways about that. Even Shinji is a friend, in a sort of unbearably bearable kind of thing.
He turned back to Houki, who was in the process of shaking her head. "No, Ichika and I went to the same school and were in the same neighborhood before I had to move." Houki supplied as she scrunched up her face in confusion. "I've never met Huang-san, and I'm pretty sure there wasn't anyone called Huang in the neighborhood we grew up in."
"Well regardless," He began as he shrugged his shoulders. "I still need to meet Lingyin, and as I've said, if you guys want to tag along, feel free. But it'll only be us exchanging recipes and telling the other how to cook what." He remembered something else. "Now that I think about it, the recipes she wants to exchange are fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. So maybe you guys won't get kicked out by her." He realized that what he said might sound like he had been joking. But he was entirely serious with his words. Lingyin had the right to kick the two women out of the kitchen if she was teaching a recipe that was considered secret to her restaurant only. So really, kicking them out of the kitchen wasn't something out of the realm of possibilities.
Now that he thought about it, maybe he was really just over thinking things. What are the chances of Lingyin actually teaching him a secret recipe that her restaurant was guarding? Maybe he was jumping the gun a bit, but really, the thought of actually learning how to cook Chinese recipes on a restaurant level scale was just too exciting to not imagine. He enjoyed cooking, very much so. It was even one of the things he had a little bit of pride on. And anything that would help him continue that skill would actually make him sort of happy.
He shook his head clear, maybe he should just get over there, he would figure out if what Lingyin was going to teach him was a secret recipe or not later. "Anyway, since you guys are so intent on following me, why don't you just ask Lingyin why she knows Ichika." He explained as he turned around and started walking. He wasn't the least bit surprised to hear two other sets of footsteps following after him.
He let loose a silent sigh, this was going to be a long day… again.
XxX
"Just add in the raw eggs as you start cooking and then salt over it, the egg will mix with the rice and coat it in a yellow sheen that is both appetizing and mouth-watering to look at." Lingyin explained as she cracked two eggs with one in each hand over the iron skillet that held frying rice in it. He had to admit, he was impressed at the efficiency of her movements in the kitchen. Heck, seeing her apron so messy, yet her sleeves so clean actually made him want Lingyin to teach him how to cook better.
After putting away the two cracked eggshells and adding in two pinches of salt, Lingyin began to push and pull the skillet, throwing the cooking rice around. "Finally, just add in the meat and vegetables you prepared before into the pan when the eggs begin to start yellowing the rice. And voila! You have Chinese style fried rice, Lingyin style." Lingyin finished with a small giggle before she put in the rest of the ingredients she had prepared before hand.
Again, he had to say he was impressed. Not only was she explaining things in a concise and productive manner, she also knew how to dictate what she was saying to keep people enraptured on what she was doing. He honestly felt like he was watching a cooking show when Lingyin first started to make Sweet and sour chicken.
He was impressed, and from the look of Cecilia's face and the way she was furiously jotting down notes on a small notepad, you could tell she was even more impressed with the way Lingyin handled her cooking. But though he and Cecilia were both amused and impressed with Lingyin's cooking show, Houki was not.
He noticed it when they had first entered the kitchen, when he greeted Lingyin, and when he started exchanging recipes with Lingyin. Houki's gaze was fixed solely onto Lingyin, her face in a pseudo-permanent scowl.
This persisted for the entirety of the exchange of recipes, even after he had finished his second recipe he had exchanged for the Fried rice. And honestly, he was worried. Not for Lingyin, but for Houki. She seemed to want to say something, and though he had an inkling of an idea of what that something was, he wasn't entirely sure what kind of tone she would start using when she began to ask.
He snapped out of his thoughts as Lingyin placed a plate of fried rice with a small piece of sweet and sour chicken on it to him. He quietly thanked her, before he picked up a silver spoon and dug in. It wasn't much, as the amount of food Lingyin made really wasn't for a meal, but it was enough for him to get a thorough taste of what she had cooked.
He had to admit, his cooking wasn't much when compared to something that restaurant cook made.
"This is delicious," He praised as he put another spoon full of rice in his mouth. He looked up at Lingyin, and saw her giggle slightly as she smiled at him.
"Thanks, I'm not much of a cook actually, at least, not compared to my mother." She explained, but he shook his head at her words.
"What are you talking about? This is good! I'm actually amazed you made something so simple taste so complex." He praised as he stared at Lingyin, who scratched her right forearm with her left hand in slight embarrassment.
"W-well, you're not half-bad yourself." She turned the tables as she suddenly complimented him. "For someone without formal training or a formal teacher, you're pretty good with a pan." He shrugged his shoulders.
"I've been cooking my whole life actually," He admitted before he slid the plate over towards Houki, who looked at him with surprise. He inclined his head to the food, quietly telling her to taste it. "Kiritsugu wasn't much of a cook, so I had to learn how to cook or else we'd have been eating take-out every night." He explained.
He watched as Houki tentatively take the spoon… before her gaze turned over to him. Strange, for some reason, her ears were red.
"Kiritsugu?" It was Cecilia who spoke up this time. He scratched his cheek in nervousness. That was a slip-up.
"Err, my foster father." That seemed to make the three women in the kitchen look at him with wide-eyes.
"Foster father?" Houki asked, her voice low as she spoke those words. He nodded his head, before he wondered if he should say why he had a foster father.
He didn't exactly want to tell him, but he wasn't inclined to tell them either. Not unless they ask-
"You were an orphan?" Houki asked, and he breathed in deep. Well, no avoiding it now, not that he was trying to mind you.
He nodded his head. "I was orphaned when I was eleven years old. Kiritsugu – my foster father – found me in the fire and err… resuscitated me?" His last statement came out sounding like a question, but he couldn't exactly just say that Kiritsugu 'magic'd' him to health.
Now that he thought about it, he didn't exactly know how he saved him either. A mystery that Kiritsugu took to the grave. Not that he wanted to know how he survived, it was enough that he survived.
It wasn't until he looked up again did he see the horrified faces of the three women in the kitchen. He tilted his head in confusion. "What?"
"Fire?" "You were in a fire?" "What happened?" They all asked simultaneously. He blinked once, before he realized just how much he had let out.
"Err, you guys know about the Fuyuki Fire?" He asked, which only made Houki look even more horrified, while making Lingyin squirm uncomfortably in her seat. Cecilia however, looked confused at what he had said.
"Fuyuki fire?" She asked, her tone honestly confused. He couldn't blame her, the Fire was big news here in Japan, but in other countries, it might have just been brushed over.
"My hometown – Fuyuki City – had a big fire. The official report said it was a faulty pipeline, but that doesn't matter. Anyway, the Fire was big, it consumed about a fourth of the city itself, and killed over a thousand people. I was one of the lucky ones that survived the fire thanks to Kiritsugu." He explained.
"That's horrible!" Cecilia exclaimed, and he let out a small smile at Cecilia's reaction. A month and a half-ago, she would have just brushed over the fact that there was a tragedy like that here in Japan, but now she was actually honestly appalled that it happened.
"Yes, it was." He confirmed as he cast his gaze downward onto the table. He remembered his earliest memories.
He kept quiet as each memory flashed in his mind, each memory of a person dying, a person saving another only to get trampled by the person they were saving, two people trying to run, only for one to fall while the other left them behind. It really was horrible.
"Shirou?" He blinked as he looked up. He blinked two more times as he refocused onto the worried faces of Houki and Cecilia. Lingyin, though had some worry on her face, had a more sympathetic look etched onto her face.
"Sorry," He amended with a small smile. "Just bad memories is all." He admitted. He sighed, an action that was noted by all three women in the room. "Anyway, that's about it. The old man didn't exactly know how to cook anything aside from bland gruel, so I had to learn how to cook."
He shook his head. "Anyway, enough about me. Come on Houki, taste it. It's good." He insisted as he gesture for Houki to taste the food on the plate in front of her.
Houki however, blushed as he said so. "A-are you sure Shirou?" She asked as she stared at the silver spoon in her hand. He raised an eyebrow at her question. Of course he was sure, it was good.
"Why are you so nervous Houki-chan?" Cecilia asked, completely confused as to why Houki was hesitating so much. "It looks good, and Shirou-san has tasted it already, are you allergic to chicken?" Cecilia's question was innocent and completely logical. Why was Houki so hesitant to taste Lingyin's food?
"Relax will ya?" Lingyin began as she turned her smile over towards Houki. "I'm a pretty good cook, your friend over here eve says so!" Though her tone had some confidence in them, it wasn't over the top, it was just her stating a fact that they had all agreed upon.
Houki however, didn't seem to share her enthusiasm at all. Instead of nodding her head, she just glared at Lingyin. Her hands still on the spoon as her eyes seemed to pierce Lingyin.
To her credit though, Lingyin didn't flinch. But she was getting testy. "You've been glaring at me ever since you got in here." She pointed out, her smile disappearing. "I don't recall ever meeting you, so I probably don't have to apologize. So tell me," Lingyin paused as she narrowed her own eyes at Houki. "Why have you been glaring at me?"
He watched from the corner of his eyes as Cecilia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. He couldn't blame her really, the room had suddenly gotten filled with tension, and it took a lot of self-control not to fidget around. Something he could attest that he had trouble doing.
He had to hand it to Houki though, she didn't even blink.
"…" Houki didn't say anything, she only placed the spoon down on the side of the plate before she returned her gaze onto Lingyin. From his perspective, he could see that both were looking each other in the eye, and that they both weren't backing down on this.
Deciding that he should at least try and ease the tension, he stood up and reached out in the middle of them. "Hey, don't start figh-" Unfortunately however, Houki cut him off.
"How do you know Ichika?" She suddenly asked, making Lingyin reel in confusion at the sudden mention of the name.
"I-Ichika?" Lingyin repeated the name as she stared at Houki with disbelieving eyes. "How do I- How do you know Ichika?!" Lingyin countered before she leaned forward. Due to her rather short stature however, she was staring up at Houki, who was still sitting down with her own glare fixed onto her prone form.
"He's my childhood friend," Houki explained without falter, and Lingyin again, straightened and backpedaled slightly as though struck. "I've lost touch with him, but I still know him." Houki frowned. "Now tell me, how do you know Ichika."
"Your childhood friend?! He's my childhood friend!" Lingyin responded. "He was my friend from sixth grade! We made a promise to each other!"
This time, it was Houki who reeled as if she was struck.
"W-what?" Houki asked, her voice low as she slowly stood up. He watched as Lingyin noticed the lapse in Houki's demeanor, before smirking.
"Yeah! I promised to cook for him whenever he wanted when we met again! He agreed." Lingyin stated. He turned towards Houki, who was now biting her bottom lip in frustration at the news.
"W-well," Houki began weakly. "I've known him since the third grade!" Houki countered.
It was at this point he tuned out the conversation. He knew what was going to happen. As he had bore witness to these kinds of arguments before with Rin and Luvia in the Clock Tower. Usually, the two would end up arguing over the smallest of things, which would then make both parties engage in a battle of one-upping the other. Sometimes these competition lasted only for a minute, sometimes, for hours on end. Either way, he was almost always caught in the crossfire, and was almost always asked to side with one.
Thankfully, these two women weren't Rin and Luvia, so the chances of them asking him to side with either was slim to non-
"Who's right Shirou?!" He stood corrected. He turned towards the owner of the voice, and was surprised to see the scrunched up and frustrated face of Houki staring at him as if asking for help. He quietly cast a glance over towards Cecilia, who was watching the entire scene in front of her in confusion. Before he sighed and faced the two arguing women that were now looking at him.
"You're both wrong." He had to resist involuntarily flinching. With Rin and Luvia, one was right and the other was wrong. There was no middle-ground. He had tried telling them both they were right before, but that only resulted in him getting soundly berated by both women. After that, he had tried telling them they were both wrong, but that resulted in something much worse than getting berated over. He felt the phantom pain over his head as he thought about the scenario.
Seeing neither woman about to smack him upside the head, he decided to push through. "It doesn't matter if you're the first childhood friend or the second. You're both friends with Ichika-san, and that should be what really matters. Not who befriended him first. I'm going to guess that if you asked him right now who he liked better, he would call you both stupid and say that he likes you two both equally." It had to be said. There really wasn't anything else that could summarize what the two were doing anyway.
"A friend is a friend," He turned towards Houki, who looked down as she remembered what he had told her before. "And regardless of the fact that he may like either of you better, you'll still be his friend. So one-upping each other over who were friends first is completely wrong and completely not what friendship is about."
Honestly, he was amazed at the fact that these women were so socially inept. Not that he could say much mind you – he was still rather stiff and inept himself when it came to meeting strangers – but still, he knew that being friends with someone isn't about comparing yourself to their other friends. If everyone in the world did that, then most likely it will turn into a very one-sided world where a pair of people will keep to themselves only.
"I've got a friend," He recounted the number of times Shinji approached him to call him out or even insult him. "He's not really a good person. He almost always has his mouth running, and he doesn't respect anyone but himself." Understatement of the year. Matou Shinji really doesn't like anyone but himself. He was borderline narcissistic now that he thought about it. "But regardless of that fact, he's still my friend. I don't compare him to my other friends, simply because it wouldn't be fair. Both to him and my other friends." You just didn't compare Shinji to Issei. You just… don't.
He sighed. Now this recipe exchange turned into a lecture. "Anyway," He began as he stood up. He turned towards Cecilia, who nodded her head in understanding. Well, at least she seemed eager. "Thanks for taking the time to teach me. I appreciate it, and hope that my own recipes help you as well." He inclined his head slightly in Lingyin's direction. He watched from his peripheral vision as Houki began to stand up as well.
"Ah," Lingyin straightened herself before she shook her head. "It wasn't much really. And you don't have to thank me, it's my apology for err," She paused before she looked away. "Stalking you." She finished in a barely audible tone.
"Why were you stal-" Houki made to chastise Lingyin more, but he cast her a look that told her to drop it. She quickly closed her mouth as she saw him. They had gone through this already, no need to antagonize the other even more.
He quietly began to pick up the utensils they had used to cook, but Lingyin's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Don't worry about cleaning. I was the one that asked to use the kitchen, I'll do it." Lingyin explained before she walked over towards him and began to pick up the utensils.
He shook his head. "Well, at least let me help you put them in the sink." He offered with a small smile. He then turned towards Cecilia, who was still looking around rather lost. "And you can go Cecilia, I'll meet you at the field in twenty. I'll just help Lingyin with the clean-up." He told her before he turned back to the dirty table and began picking up the plates that they had used.
He caught sight of Houki from his peripheral vision, and looked up at her. He was surprised to see her biting her bottom lip in what could be said as frustration. "I-I'll help too." She offered before she stood up and made to pick up the dish in front of her. He stopped her however with a shake of his head.
"We've got this Houki, why don't you go with Cecilia and wait for me in the stadium?" He said as he picked up the plate in front of Houki. He carefully watched her reaction as he made to pick up the extra dishes. For a second, it looksed like she was going to protest, but she suddenly sagged her shoulders, before she nodded her head.
"Okay." She said weakly before she began walking around the table and towards Cecilia. He watched as Houki gestured for Cecilia to follow her, Cecilia hesitantly nodded her head, but not before casting another look towards him, to which he replied with a nod of his head.
After that, both of his friends exited the kitchen, leaving him alone with Lingyin and plenty of dirty dishes that he would be damned he wouldn't help clean. He used about half of these anyway.
He turned back towards the table and began picking up the dishes, but some giggling made him turn his head towards the other person the room. "Quite a nice group of friends you have there." She complimented. He turned towards her and gave her a small smile.
"I guess it is." He said. He then adopted a questioning look before he asked Lingyin a question. "How about you though? Have you made any friends since you've transferred?"
Lingyin laughed before she shook her head. "Nah, not really. I tend to avoid people when I can." She admitted, making him look at her incredulously. He stopped stacking the plates as he straightened himself and turned towards Lingyin. "And it's not like they want to hang around someone like me anyway."
That… that was depreciating.
"What makes you say that?" He asked, curious as to why she sounded so depressed when just a few minutes ago, she was quite giddy.
Lingyin sighed before she shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? I don't, and I have no reason to figure out why."
"Is that it?" He blurted unwillingly. He didn't mean for it to sound incredulous, nor did he mean to sound like he was looking down on Lingyin, but he was honestly surprised to see Lingyin so self-depreciating. She was so… extroverted, so lively when she had been teaching him how to cook the recipes.
Lingyin stopped stacking plates before she turned to look at him. A frown was on her face instead of the bright smile he had grown accustomed to for the entirety of the day. "I don't like being around large groups of people." She admitted.
"But aren't you a cook and a waitress?" He asked, his incredulity showing as he stared at Lingyin with confused eyes.
"My job demands me to smile and greet people. I don't do anything half-assed, and if being around people is what I'm supposed to do, I can suck it up." Lingyin let out a wistful sigh. "Surprising right? I'm sorta jaded with people around me."
"Anyway, long story short. I've got no one like you do in this school. And I'm not expecting to have anyone either. I mean, I was. But you being here kind of killed it for me." She said before smiling. He noted that her smile was quite strained and didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Err…" He made to apologize, but Lingyin shook her head and stopped him.
"Don't apologize. It's not really your fault. I can guess that you hate big crowds as much as I do, and that's why you asked the school to keep your identity secret. If it's anyone's fault, it'd be mine. I should have researched more instead of jumping the gun." Lingyin sighed.
"Anyway, I'll clean up here. You should go meet up with your friends." Her words told him that arguing wouldn't be appreciated. So instead of insisting, he simply bowed his head and quietly exited the kitchen. His mind going through the similarities between Houki, Cecilia, and then finally Lingyin.
I mean really, what were the odds of meeting three socially inept people in an Academy filled with women?
…
…
…
Now he sounded sexist.
XxX
She quietly watched as her target exited the kitchen. Honestly, she had just been passing through the hallway when he first heard a male voice. She didn't intend to figure out so much about her target so quickly.
"Fuyuki Fire huh?" She quietly whispered before she looked back inside the kitchen. She noted that the Chinese student seemed to sigh every few seconds, before she turned her gaze back towards the door her target had exited from. Irrelevant information, but she did note that her target seemed to attract Representative Candidates.
"I guess I'll phone M and tell the bitch that her target had a fucked up past just like she did." She grinned madly before she reverted back to her public persona.
She began walking away from the kitchen, her thoughts going through what kind of ammunition she could dig up from just learning about her target's past alone.
XxX
Fore-shadowing. Check. Cooking. Check. Character development for upwards to three characters. Check. Looks like a filler. Checkity-check.
Damn. You know how that author's note at the top says I had been working on it the day after I posted the last chapter? Well, that's true. It is also true that I missed by targeted deadline of Sunday. Damn. Though to my defense, my net has been acting up again... feeble defense, but still defense. I've proofread this to the best of my ability, but it's also three in the morning right now. Feel free to go crazy on the mistakes, I'll get to fixing them later.
Also, I didn't forget about Chifuyu, just wait for the next chapter for an explanation m'kay?
Anyway, this chapter… nothing to report really. Just some character development and some fore-shadowing. Both good (Shirou and Lingyin), bad (Phantom Task agent inside the school), and mad (Bunny-fu-fu).
That's all I have to say really. Tell me what you guys think. And a bonus question. Have I improved my writing whatsoever? From chapter 1 to here, did I improve, or did I get worse?
C.O.Y.L out, peace!