I don't own Fate/Stay Night or RWBY.
Note: This story contains spoilers for F/SN Heaven's Feel route. Continue at own risk.
"What?" Shirou repeated. "Could you repeat that?"
Jaune stammered as he said elaborated. "I want to ask Weiss to the Beacon Dance. You know, the one that's happening next week. There's not a lot of time left and I don't really know what to do. Please, I need help."
"And so you want my help. But why me? Wouldn't it have been better if you talked to someone else who might be a better option? Like Pyrrha or Ren?"
"I mean, you're on her team, so I guessed that you probably know Weiss better than I do. Yang probably knows her best, being her partner and all, but I don't think she'll give me the time of day, if you know what I mean," Jaune replied. His eyes darted away, shoulders slackening a little. "Never mind. Maybe you're right. I should probably find someone else."
Shirou shook his head while pointing to the ground. "Sit."
"Huh?" Jaune blinked, rooted to the spot in his confusion.
"Sit. Let's talk." Shirou took the lead, squatting down before letting his feet collapse under him and shifting into a more comfortable position. "I didn't say I wouldn't try to help. I can't guarantee that I can help, but we won't know unless we talk it out and see what comes."
"O-oh. Alright."
Seeing that Jaune himself had settled down, Shirou began. "You say that you need my advice. I understand that much. Where's the problem exactly?"
"I want to ask Weiss to the Dance, but I don't know what will work. As in, what will convince her to say yes."
Shirou mulled over it for a moment. "What did you already have in mind?"
"I was thinking of going all out, you know? I got a guitar and…" Jaune only got that far before Shirou interrupted.
"A guitar?" Shirou asked sceptically.
"Yeah! I was going to sing something nice and maybe she'll agree this time. I even thought of some of the lyrics. It goes something like this. 'Weiss Schnee, will you accompany me…'"
'Is it bad that I think this is already a lost cause?' Shirou had to physically stop himself from shuddering at the offkey tune the blond was belching out. 'Weiss would kill him at the very first syllable. And this time, I not so sure that the killing will be purely metaphorical.'
"Jaune, I'm not going to lie, but that's not going to work. No offense, but you could drive people mad with that tune."
The blond at least had the decency of looking embarrassed at the admittedly horrible singing. "Yeah, that's what I figured too. So, do you think you can help me?" He asked hopefully.
"Honestly, if you were asking for advice on combat, I wouldn't have a problem giving you a solution," Shirou replied with a sigh. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but this isn't really the kind of thing I have enough experience with."
Jaune lowered his head. "O-oh. I see."
Before the knight could make to stand and leave, Shirou stopped him. "Let's go over this. You like Weiss, right?"
"Eh? Yeah, I guess I do?"
"You mean you're not sure?"
"It's a… I mean, yes, I like Weiss." There was a hint of red on his cheeks at the confession.
"What exactly about her do you like?"
The blond gazed into the distance. "Well, when I first saw her during initiation, I just thought 'wow'. She was probably the prettiest girl in that room at the time. And the way she carried herself with that confidence and grace. Then when we got flung into the forest and we had to run from that Deathstalker and the big Nevermore, I saw how she elegant she fought with her rapier and Dust. Oh, and did you know that her singing is amazing? I checked out a few videos of some of her concerts in the past. So… yeah."
Jaune trailed off. "Weiss is, well, literally amazing in every way I know. Why do you ask that though?"
"Because it just seems to me that it's not very apparent in your actions."
Jaune stared at him for several uninterrupted seconds. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that despite Weiss making it very clear that she's not interested, you've apparently not caught on. I get that Weiss is talented in many areas, and you like her for that. But considering the lack of interest on her part, if I didn't know better, I'd have thought that you were trying to make Weiss dislike you instead with how you've been pushing."
"If I try hard enough…"
"And it doesn't work." Shirou answered bluntly. He did not miss how Jaune flinched as though physically struck. "I know you've got no real ill intentions. And personally, I'm not actually against you trying to go out with Weiss. But you need to know when to stop and rethink what you're doing."
"I-It would work eventually, right?" Jaune tried to make a comeback. "My dad said so. That all a girl ever looks for is a guy with enough confidence."
'That might be true but…'
"… But it won't matter if it's not genuine." Shirou completed, the last part being verbalised for Jaune's benefit. "You speak of confidence, but the truth is that you don't actually feel all that confident, isn't it? Trying to catch a girl's attention isn't something you're used to doing. And because of that, it shows in the way you act. It just looks like you're putting on a front. It lacks anything substantial behind it."
Shirou sighed, scratching his head. "We've been here in Beacon for several months now, nearly a semester and a half. In that time, have you learnt anything new about Weiss?"
"I…"
"What about her family? And I don't mean the fact that they own the biggest Dust mining and processing company in Remnant," Shirou continued, cutting Jaune off yet again as the blond started to stammer an answer. "Do you know if she has any siblings or what they are currently doing? What about the things Weiss likes? Her favourite food, the music she listens to, what she likes to do during her free time. Anything?"
Shirou watched Jaune's mouth open and close several times, his expression cycling through confusion, distress, and several other emotions. Shirou felt somewhat bad for being so blunt with his friend. But it was reaching the point where someone needed to have him face reality, forcefully if needed. Weiss' patience had been running thin as of late, and one thing that Shirou feared was that if Jaune carried on with as little forethought as before, relations between the two ran the risk of being permanently damaged. It was probably best that he faced the music now, rather than to find himself in an even worse situation later on.
"I…" Jaune finally caved in. "I don't know."
"I understand if you didn't see or understand the signs, and for that I don't blame you. But if after all this time, you haven't actually attempted to get to know her even for such simple things, can you really say that you have been genuine in wanting to create a proper relationship with Weiss?"
The blond knight looked to the ground. He shook his head in defeat. "No, I suppose I don't."
It was obvious that Jaune meant well, even if more than a little misguided. It was a matter born from a simple crush on a girl, and nothing more. But then again, the road to hell had also been paved with good intentions, and the blond was setting himself up for failure if no one bothered to get him to see the light.
"Look, Jaune, I'm not trying to demoralise you. But you really need to see how difficult what you're asking me is, and I can't help you if you don't at least try to resolve this problem."
"Difficult?" Jaune laughed softly. "Don't you mean impossible?"
"It's not impossible," Shirou replied firmly. This got Jaune's attention, if only slightly. "That being said, what will you do now?"
"Well… I suppose now that I know how badly I messed up, I want to make things better." Jaune rubbed his neck with a sigh after a few moments. "Fixing things… that's still possible, right?"
"It is," Shirou agreed. "But how you go about doing it will be your job. I can't tell you what to do; there would be no meaning to it if you were only following the instructions of another. Decide for yourself what actions you need to take."
Jaune bobbed his head up and down. Seconds later, he looked up. "Do you… Do you think I still have a chance?"
Shirou reached over to pat him on the shoulder. "That is also up to you. I'm not telling you to give up. If it matters that much to you, then give this a little more thought. Take things a little slower and try to think things through. Above all things, consider how Weiss would react to your actions. If you truly care about her, as a friend or otherwise, you need to start actually considering her wellbeing, and having your actions reflect that. Up until now, all you've been doing is thinking of her, and not thinking for her, if that makes sense to you."
Shirou then leaned back, looking up at the fractured moon. "Relationships aren't an easy thing. Take it from someone who has a little bit of experience. Go back one year, and I was probably just as clueless as you are now, if not worse. You can even say that I didn't notice things until they were a little too late."
He was fixed with wide, surprised eyes. "What happened then?" Jaune queried.
Shirou simply offered a shrug. "Life moved on. You learn to live with the consequences of your actions, whatever they are." He glanced over at the now silent teen. "It's not too late for you. You have a chance to change things for the better. Make the most use of it. Go back and think things through, carefully. My only advice is to be patient. You can't expect things to happen overnight. Don't rush, and don't try to be what you're not. And don't do what you've been doing, seriously. It doesn't work. Please, no guitar shenanigans if you know what's good for you."
The two sat there, Jaune in silent contemplation, and Shirou waiting patiently for Jaune to reach his own conclusion. He wouldn't force Jaune to follow his advice. It was not Shirou's place to tell him what to do.
Eventually, the blond began nodding slowly, some of the light returning to his azure orbs. "I think I understand a bit now." He broke into a soft laughter. "I must have looked like an idiot."
"We all make mistakes," Shirou said, though not unkindly. "What's important is that we don't repeat them. Don't linger on the past, because it'll only be a burden. Learn, and move on."
Jaune nodded again, this time with slightly more vigour. "Yeah. I got it. I think… I think I really have a lot to go over." He stood up, dusting his pants before flashing a smile of gratitude.
"No problem. Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to talk about it?"
The blond waved his hand, even if the action was not exactly brimming with confidence. "I'm good. I think I'll call it a day, like you said. I promise I'll consider everything you told me… and thank you, Shirou. You've been a really big help all this time. I mean, you've been giving me tips on how to use Crocea Mors, and now all this."
"I already told you. It's nothing much on my part."
"Still, I feel like I'm in your debt. And I want to repay that someday."
Shirou looked up with a start, and recognised the admiration and respect for what they were. He chuckled softly. "Well, if you really want to repay me, then keep on working hard like you are doing now. Make yourself strong enough, and I don't mean just combat-wise but also in all these other areas, until you don't need to rely on me for help. And learn to have a bit more confidence in yourself. You've already made far more progress with your techniques than anyone probably expected of you, so if nothing else, at least be proud of that."
Jaune laughed along with him. His tone was a little lighter, his posture now a little straighter. "Yeah, alright. I'll try. Good night, Shirou."
"You are welcome. Good night, Jaune."
Shirou watched as the blond knight disappeared into the darkness, shaking his head as he recounted their conversation.
'Maybe I had been a little too blunt on Jaune,' Shirou thought with a grimace. 'Had I time to think, I could probably have put it in slight better words. I guess I picked up a little too much from Archer after all.'
"Somehow… I've become a sort of guidance counsellor," he mused. "This really isn't what I expected to be doing when I signed up for this."
"Neither did I, Mr Emiya."
Shirou stiffened when the calm voice rang out across the clearing, before a familiar form in green materialised out of the shadows, cane and coffee cup in hand and a bemused smile gracing his lips.
"Headmaster." Shirou acknowledged the presence of the older man, inclining his head politely. "Good evening."
"Yes, it is certainly a very lovely evening. I have to say, it isn't often that I see students awake at this time of the night. Imagine my surprise when I come across not one but two individuals busy training behind the main school compound well after the stipulated lesson timings, out of the range of the security cameras if I might add."
"I don't need a lot of sleep," Shirou explained with a casual shrug, carefully ignoring Ozpin's little note about the security cameras. Honestly, he had not known about that, but it was probably for the best that he held his tongue on the issue. "I can sustain a regular day's routine on about four hours or so. If I can't sleep anyway, then I might as well put it to good use."
"A respectable course of action. Now that we're both here, how about accompanying this old man for a chat? I must confess that I'm not one to need much sleep either." Ozpin smiled, gesturing back at the main compound.
Shirou stood up silently and walked alongside Ozpin, both taking a deliberately slow pace. He saw nothing wrong with the Headmaster's request, and could detect no deception of any kind from the enigmatic head of Beacon. "I think that has something to do with your caffeine consumption."
"A small price to pay to enjoy one of life's few pleasures still available to me. Tell me, how are you finding the semester so far? None of it is too difficult for you, I assume?"
"Lessons are alright. There doesn't seem to be any topics in particular that I have trouble with at the moment, except maybe History. Other than that, things are normal. Nothing out of the ordinary comes to mind."
The cup was brought to Ozpin's lips before the man in green asked. "Not even your team's recent encounter and capture of Roman Torchwick? Most people will certainly consider it out of the ordinary. Maybe even a badge of honour, considering how you succeeded where even teams of fully fledged Huntsmen had failed."
"I'm not exactly like most people."
"So it would seem."
A lull in the conversation took hold. It was not exactly awkward; the silence came about simply due to a lack of any substantial topics Shirou was able to think of. Somewhat to his relief, the Headmaster very timely rescued him from that dilemma.
"You were training Mr Arc in combat," Ozpin observed. "Sword forms if I was not mistaken."
The young blade smith nodded, internally grateful that the conversation could resume. It would certainly be rather unpleasant if he agreed to speak with the Headmaster and could not make conversation. "He was looking for ways to improve his tactics and overall knowledge of combat."
"And how would you rate his learning capabilities?" Ozpin asked, eyes flashing briefly behind his circular glasses.
'Is Ozpin fishing for information on Jaune?'
It certainly would make sense. The Arc had been at the literal bottom of their class with virtually non-existent combat skills at the start of the school year. He might not be able to face the likes of Yang or Pyrrha in combat, but his improvement was certainly the fastest Shirou had ever seen of anyone in Remnant thus far. That his startling growth had caught the eye of the Headmaster was no surprise in that regard.
"I see no problems there. Jaune takes any combat practice very seriously, and he is capable of quickly internalising any suggestions he is given if it is explained simply and clearly, with demonstration. But then you probably already knew that, seeing as you had accepted him into Beacon. I suppose there really isn't much I can tell you that you aren't aware of."
"I don't know what kind of perception you have of me, but I'm not omniscient, Mr Emiya." Ozpin gave a dry laugh before adding. "I simply have a generous number of cameras around the school, although none in the private areas such as your personal rooms. While I did see potential in young Jaune, I did not know exactly what exact shape that would take. All of the students I bring into this school are ones that I had seen potential in, many of which would likely have remained undiscovered had they not pursued the life of a Huntsman. That being said, all I wish for is that each and every one of you students use your journey through Beacon to mould yourselves into your best possible forms. And I am happy to see that with help from both you and his partner, Ms Nikos, Mr Arc is awakening to his own potential far earlier than I had envisioned he would."
"More Pyrrha than me actually," Shirou freely admitted. "She's the one that is teaching Jaune on a regular basis. I only give him advice on the occasions when I run into him during my own personal practice sessions."
"I see. I suppose that is to be expected. With her years of formal training, Ms Nikos is probably familiar enough with the standard techniques and instructional routines to guide her partner, even if she seems to stick to rather mundane and simplistic practices for his training." Ozpin mused between sips from his mug. "But don't discount your own efforts. You are clearly very knowledgeable in the ways of the sword yourself, seeing how you displayed techniques from both one-handed as well as rapier schools just moments earlier. Rather unusual considering your regular choice of weapons."
"If you can only fight with one type of weapon, then you risk being left at a disadvantage if you don't have it with you or are disarmed. It is always better to at least have a basic understanding of other weaponry should the need ever arises for us to use them." Shirou shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile when he noticed the Headmaster listening with interest. "No one ever likes to pay for insurance, but you don't hear anyone complaining when they actually need to cash it in."
Ozpin nodded in approval. "I couldn't agree more." He drummed his fingers on the handle of his cane. "Tell me then, what do you know of…"
A soothing rhythm played on a piano emanated from Ozpin's pocket and the Headmaster shifted slightly, pulling out a black scroll. "Truly, unfortunate timing. Do excuse me for a moment."
The Headmaster placed the device to his ear and fell silent. Several seconds later, his hands tightened around his cane. "Alright. Keep me informed, and report back as soon as you find something." He ended the call and closed the scroll. He turned back to a patiently waiting Shirou with an apologetic smile. "It appears that I will have to cut this pleasant conversation short, as there are matters that require my attention. I apologise."
"There is no need. Even if it was only for a moment, it was by no means unpleasant," Shirou responded amicably.
"Well then, I shall bid you good night, and thank you for keeping this old man company."
Seeing Ozpin retreat in the direction of his office, Shirou did the same, turning to the dorms. The Headmaster's reactions to whatever message he received over his scroll had been interesting to witness. While Shirou did not know the contents of that brief call, it had been serious enough to cause Ozpin's entire body to stiffen up for a full second. He shrugged, dismissing the thought. It was none of his business and, in all likelihood, Ozpin probably had the problem covered. He was the Headmaster, with all the resources such a position conferred.
Slipping back into his room, Shirou took caution not to wake his team while he quickly washed up. Minutes later, he too was lost to the world of wakefulness.
0-0-0
"Hey, man. Thanks again for agreeing to this," Mercury Black said conversationally, his tone light as he hopped from foot to foot, fists raised and body poised for battle.
It had been several days since he had been issued the challenge, and the two had hashed out the arrangements with Professor Goodwitch, who had readily agreed to oversee the duel.
"No problem." Shirou readied Kanshou and Bakuya, warily watching the enthused teen who looked like he could not wait another second for the match to start. Aster had been temporarily returned to Ruby, who had wanted to make a few adjustments to the internal mechanism to further reduce the transition time between its forms. At the present, the pair of swords were on the table in his dorm, disassembled into their component parts.
He glanced up at the stands, which was unusually packed with more students than normal for the combat class. As his eyes surveyed the crowd, some even standing on the stairs and along the wall behind the seating, he noticed several familiar faces from the more senior years, including Team CFVY among others. Seriously, it was just another duel; there was an average of one duel almost every other day in Beacon, making it a rather common occurrence. That kind of a thing shouldn't invoke interest of this magnitude among the student body.
'Or maybe it's just because a student from another Academy officially challenged someone from Beacon. Considering that all visiting students are representatives of their own Academies, that an exchange student singled out one from here could likely be taken as a sign that the individual was seen as an equal, meaning he or she had the possibility to be one of the few to be chosen to represent Beacon.'
He turned back to his opponent, studying the silver-haired male. Mercury carried no visible weapons and, by his stance, appeared to be an unarmed fighter. The vambraces and rerebraces he wore on his arms were ordinary pieces of equipment; Shirou had no problems reading them and, from the information he received in his Reality Marble, he could see no special features to them. If Mercury had any weapons on him, they were not of a type that he could identify from pure visual observation. The attachments that linked to his pair of black boots and circled his ankles did catch Shirou's attention however, even if he could not extract any information from them.
"You've been busy," Shirou noted, getting his opponent's attention. "I heard from Pyrrha's team that you issued a challenge to her as well as a few other students."
Mercury simply grinned. "Hey, there are a bunch of good fighters here, and there's no guarantee I'll get to fight most of you guys in the tournament. Can't let this opportunity pass me by now, can I?" His answer elicited no more than a shrug from the redhead.
"I suppose that's fair."
Professor Goodwitch stepped in front of the two fighters, and the hall went silent. "This friendly match between Mercury Black of Haven and Emiya Shirou of Beacon Academy has been brought to the attention of our staff, which has decided to sanction it as the first of what we hope will be many more inter-Academy duels between our students. Before we start, I would like to remind both participants as well as the audience that duels should be conducted with respect for your opponent and an appropriate level of sportsmanship befitting your station. I do not care if you have personal conflicts among yourselves. If you step on this stage, you will leave any such sentiments behind."
Turning, she glanced at both Shirou and Mercury for a second. "Are both participants ready?"
Shirou's fingers tightened around the grips of the married blades.
"Begin!"
Mercury leaped – literally – the second the call was given.
Left. Right. Left. Three consecutive kicks lashed out even as he sailed through the air. Shirou backpedalled out of reach. The moment the silver-haired male landed, a blast resounded, and he executed a forward flip with the force generated from the impact with the ground, his right leg straightened and heel bearing down on Shirou's head.
A single swipe of his white falchion was sufficient to divert the incoming axe kick with how heavily telegraphed the attack had been. Mercury twisted in the air and landed back on both feet, a confident smirk breaking his previous calm demeanour. The moment lasted less than a second, as the exchange student moved in for yet another attack, spinning around for yet another kick to Shirou's head, this time one aimed at its side.
He bent at the knees, leaning forward even as the roundhouse kick soared above him. A quick jab brought the point of Bakuya on a direct path to Mercury's ribs, but the acrobatic teen twisted along with the kick and knocked the blade aside with his other leg. He continued to spin with the momentum, launching yet another powerful sweeping strike that struck against the flat of Shirou's weapon in a shower of sparks.
'Kickboxing?' Shirou observed, cross referencing what he saw with information he already had. 'His combat style almost exclusively comprises of techniques that utilise his legs, and those things he has on his boots must be to provide additional force behind his attacks and as a method of propulsion. Interesting. So that's what those are for. Also, while he does use his hands, they seem to be only for basic grappling. A strange specialisation, if rather limited in variability of techniques.'
As weapons, Mercury's boots were nothing special, and his time in Remnant alone was sufficient for Shirou to draw an accurate conclusion of the other teen's weapon. If not, then being in the near constant company of one Ruby Rose certainly helped.
Gun mechanisms installed into a pair of regular boots, with no other particular functionality from what he had seen in the scant minutes the fight had gone on for. He could glean nothing of value from them. Perhaps if he could make contact with the mechanisms, he might learn more of its internal functionality.
Had there been a blade attached to them, however, much like how Ruby's Crescent Rose was half bladed implement and half gun, there would have been no issue since then it would qualify – at least in part – as a sword. Firearms without a bladed component still required him to be in prolonged physical contact to learn even just an understanding of their functionality, much like he had done with the Atlesian Paladin on that very eventful evening in Vale with a comprehensive and rather liberal use of Structural Analysis. As it was, a simple gun attachment for a pair of boots were just too far removed from his element of 'Sword' for him to learn everything from sight, much less include it into the Unlimited Blade Works.
While it was disappointing, no information was still information in itself. Being unable to read the weaponised footwear meant that they did not have a bladed function hidden somewhere within them. One less potential problem that he would have to factor in when anticipating attacks from his opponent. A small consolation.
Shirou swiped at Mercury's legs. The lanky teen did a backflip, but the moment his palms touched the ground, he spun about while maintaining the handstand, his left heel knocking away the white falchion before the right followed immediately after and deflecting its black counterpart. Making a full revolution, his left leg struck Shirou on the upper arm before he flipped upright, stamping onto the stage with both feet. With speed that surprised even Shirou, Mercury followed up with a spinning kick to the stomach, the force of the blow enough to stagger the redhead several paces.
Up in the seats, Yang whistled and muttered. "Damn he's good."
Beside her, Weiss nodded in agreement, while Ruby shouted out support for her partner, silver eyes aglow with excitement.
"It's to be expected from someone who was elected as a representative for the tournament," the snow-haired girl noted before smiling to herself. "But you of all people should know that something of that level won't be enough to beat Shirou."
The blond chuckled. "Yeah, you got that right. No way is Handsome going to lose against Twinkle Toes over there."
A distance away, Cinder frowned, having caught the conversation from where she was seated.
Back on the stage, Shirou twisted and ducked to avoid the rapid flurry of kicks. The speed at which Mercury attacked was not the fastest he had experienced, but it was by far the most consistent in its unyielding ferocity. It was this combination of speed and force that made the fight particularly difficult even when compared to others like Yang, who had the strength but not the speed, or Ruby, who was the exact opposite.
Bakuya flashed through the air, striking the melee fighter in the shin, stopping cold a particularly powerful sweeping kick. His arm did not stop there; it followed through with the same motion and came up to rake across Mercury's shirt before he could move out of range of the curved blade.
From there, Shirou continued to press the attack, making use of that one counter to step in closer. An elbow thrust contacted a rising knee. A clenched fist to the sternum. Kanshou ramming point down into the Haven student's thigh.
Being that close meant that Shirou could not perform any wide, powerful swings of either of his twin swords. But it also meant that Mercury was not in an optimal distance to perform his kicks either. In order to deal with Shirou's onslaught, he would be forced to grapple, with movement limited to knee and elbow strikes or short-ranged punches. For one whose entire style of combat was dominated by kicks and generally wide movements to generate momentum, it was not a particularly advantageous position to be in.
Throwing caution to the winds, Mercury caught hold of Shirou's wrist, using pure force of strength to angle the curved blade away from his person. He lashed out with a low kick aimed to stumble the sword wielder. The bottom of Shirou's boot met his knee, the Beacon student having already anticipated it and countering accordingly.
Mercury was not done. Making use of that as leverage to lean his weight on, he bent backwards while simultaneously bringing his other leg up. Shirou realised what he was doing, but could not move in time with his arm restrained. A gunshot rang out right before the projectile connected with his chest plate. The silver-haired male somersaulted, making several full revolutions before coming to a stop some distance away.
The two circled each other, wariness and caution dominating their respective minds now that both had a more or less comprehensive idea of what the other was capable of. The previous confident and bravado was nowhere to be found, even as Mercury stalked after his opponent with a frustrated scowl. Cracking his neck, he charged in once more.
Shirou leaned back, a left boot missing his nose by a hairs breadth. That same boot returned to ground just as its partner appeared. This time, it landed, discharging a powerful gunshot the moment it slammed into Shirou's wrist, the impact sending the black falchion involuntarily flying out of his grasp.
"Lost your weapon," Mercury taunted.
Shirou did not grace that with a response, partially due to the force of the blow itself. He glanced to where the blade had come to a stop near the edge of the stage, but even before his body could break into a dash to retrieve the falchion, a leather sole entered his vision, forcing him to roll in the opposite direction.
"Oh no you don't. Can't let you get that back, now can I?"
'Should I just trace another copy?' The thought passed through Shirou's mind before he dismissed it. 'No, there's no need for that at this point in time.'
"Trace on."
Prana surged through his right arm, even as he clenched his now-empty hand into a tight fist. From the fight, he finally understood how the student named Mercury Black fought, the kind of techniques he employed and the speed at which he executed them. He saw the openings, the minor lapses in between the motions of certain attacks that did not transit smoothly from one to the other. Most importantly, he also knew how to counter them.
Shirou waited and, true to form, his more than a little impatient opponent decided to strike after noticing that he was not making a move of his own. He watched as Mercury closed the distance, running in a zigzag pattern. The Haven student dug his heel in and pivoted on the foot. He gasped in shock shortly after when Shirou's hand shot out with blinding speed and caught his leg, fingers tightening around just above the knee with the strength of a steel vice.
There was only a fraction of a second before Mercury would respond to having his attack stopped, before the element of surprise wore off. That fraction of a second was all the time Shirou needed. Bakuya scored three successive cuts across Mercury's open flank and stomach, each slicing strike connecting smoothly into the next.
When Shirou released the limb in his right hand, his arm had already been pulled back after stepping close to his opponent. Like a spring uncoiling, the hand shot forward.
Mercury saw it coming, yet when he attempted to dodge, he found himself locked to the redhead by the white blade that had swung around his neck, the spine of the weapon pressing hard against the back of his collar. Spittle flew in the air when the fist buried itself in his stomach and only then did the blade retract, letting Mercury stumble back with a groan of pain as his Aura flickered from the heavy blow.
Shirou's onslaught continued. He caught Mercury from left shoulder to right waist with a diagonal slash and when the male threw his arms up in a desperate attempt to block any subsequent attacks, Shirou took aim instead at his legs, left open for the first time since the start of the match. A single sweep was all it took to topple him, the attack he received just prior to it robbing him of balance.
By the time Mercury pushed himself back to his feet, Shirou had already retrieved the missing half of his equipment and was bearing down on him, both blades gleaming in his hands as light was reflected off their glossy surface. Only a last-minute spin kick and subsequent flip allowed him to maintain the distance between them.
'From the looks of it, he's already somewhat worn out from our previous exchanges,' Shirou observed, noticing the distinctly more sluggish movement of his opponent. He grimaced when a jolt of pain lanced through his shoulder, accompanied by the familiar heat of prana pulsing in his circuits. 'Unfortunately, the same can probably be said for myself. If possible, I should end this in the next few minutes, or recovery might be a little more problematic.'
"You look tired," Shirou called out. It was only after the fact that he realised what he said could easily be misconstrued as a taunt at his opponent, something he had not intended to do. From the snickers in the audience, they likely had interpreted it in that way, much to his chagrin.
Mercury wheezed, but a moment later snorted in response. "Don't sweat it. I'm just getting started." With a running start, he leapt into the air. He flipped once when reaching the peak of his parabolic motion.
Shirou dove aside as the grey comet landed, sending a spider web of cracks spreading outwards across the stage from the impact's epicentre. Mercury was a surprisingly hard hitter, considering how lithe he was. With nothing else to go on, Shirou could only conclude that his opponent was particularly well trained in the art of Aura control, especially for the purpose of physical augmentation if his attacks were any indication; the male had no particularly large muscle mass, so there was literally no explanation other than Aura that Shirou could come up with for how Mercury could pack such force behind each and every blow.
He shook his head lightly, eyes fixed on the grey-and-black clothed student even as he deflected several kicks with the flats of Kanshou and Bakuya. Shirou waited patiently, biding his time. He subtly shifted onto the defensive, focusing on parrying blows while only returning short jabs of his own. Apparently seeing the change and assuming that Shirou was running low on Aura, Mercury pressed on with vigour, increasing his attacks in both speed and force.
Finally, he overextended, launching a wide-arcing kick that, while powerful, took much longer to fully execute due to the momentum that needed to be built up beforehand. A product of carelessness or a slip of the mind, it was a motion that gave away all of its owner's intentions. It was the opening Shirou had been waiting for.
He did not waste it.
His arm darted out like a striking viper, wrapping around the appendage. Despite the leg contacting his ribs, Shirou redirected the force and rolled with it, spinning into Mercury's unguarded front. His other arm scored a deep cut on the shoulder, before Shirou followed through with more strikes, Bakuya chaining into Kanshou and back into Bakuya in a seemingly endless combination of white and black. It took only a second, but that alone was all that was needed.
Mercury collapsed, gasping for breath and stunned by the unforgiving rain of blows. His Aura flashed before dissipating at the last blow, a pommel smashing into his cheek, the fading light a clear indication as to the end of the duel.
"That will be enough." Shirou stepped away from his downed opponent as Professor Goodwitch signalled for a stop. "Mr Black's Aura has been depleted, thus the duel is over. A very good showing, Mr Emiya. Despite facing an opponent you had no experience with, you did not act rashly but instead fought with admirable calm. You analysed your foe and capitalised on the mistakes he made. As for you Mr Black. Your techniques are indeed impressive, which is to be expected of a Vytal representative, but while you were able to pressure Mr Emiya, you failed to deliver any truly decisive blows during the entire duel. I would suggest working on a more structured finishing strategy, something that I believe should be of little trouble for you and beneficial to your participation in the Vytal tournament."
Mercury Black nodded before turning to Shirou with a jaunty grin. He held his right hand out. "Good fight."
After a moment's hesitation, Shirou reached out and grasped the proffered hand. "Thank you. That was an impressive showing yourself. I don't fancy the team that has to face you in the tournament."
"Heh. I could say the same for you. No offense, but you're a real monster." Mercury chuckled, his other hand swiping through his hair to push back the fringe that dropped into his eyes from the sweat generated during the match. "Damn, did I even make you take this seriously? Because I could have sworn you were holding back a bit."
"Well, you weren't going all out either," Shirou observed, getting a widening of eyes in return. "But I guess that's understandable. It's definitely not a wise choice to reveal everything before the tournament starts."
"Yeah, you caught me. Can't show my hand so soon, or things will get troublesome later on. That and my boss – I mean leader – will have more than a few things to say if I do. Best of luck getting into the tournament though. Would be a waste if you failed to qualify considering how good you are. Maybe we might even get a chance to fight again. Say, talking about fights, you don't happen to know anything about how Nikos fights, do you? Anything you know about her Semblance? Need to get a few pointers before my duel with her in another couple of days."
"Pyrrha?" Shirou pondered while Mercury waited in anticipation. As friendly as his counterpart might seem, Shirou still barely knew him, and it would also not be appropriate in any way for him to reveal information of such nature. If Mercury wanted to know, then he would have to ask Pyrrha himself, not that Shirou expected the competitive girl to reveal anything. "Not very much, I'm afraid. I don't really know the exact details of her Semblance, and it wouldn't be right either if I told you without her knowledge."
Mercury shrugged, not appearing fazed by the lack of an answer. "Oh well. No big deal, I suppose. Got to go now, or else my partner is going to start asking questions. See you around soon, and thanks for the good fight." He waved casually and exited the stage with a short leap, heading for the adjacent changing room while whistling a jaunty tune.
Shirou quickly did the same, getting out of his combat attire and back into his Beacon uniform after a quick wash up. Leaving the changing room adjacent to the combat arena, he noticed his team waiting for him.
"Nice fight, Handsome." Yang waved while Ruby gave him a thumbs up and a big grin. "You really showed that Mercury fellow who's the boss. Have to say, he seems to be an okay guy, but we can't let these other students think they can come in here from the other academies and walk all over us." The blonde then walked up and clapped Shirou on the shoulder in an exaggerated manner reminiscent of the way Professor Port always acted. "You've done Beacon proud!"
Shirou rolled his eyes in good-natured fashion even as Ruby and Weiss snorted at the exaggerated action. He fell into pace alongside them as the four made their way back up to their seats, settling in while another group of students got into position on the stage. He glanced to his side, where Weiss was already engrossed in closely scrutinising the various students and their choice of weapons, before turning back to the stage and doing the same.
0-0-0
Shirou watched as Weiss pointed at the ground directly in front of her feet, the tip of her rapier hovering just above the metal surface. The floor lit up with a complex glyph, bearing not only the symbol that had become the Schnee family crest, but also imageries of swords and intricate details absent from the usual instances of her Semblance.
Her eyes were closed and were it not for the faint rise and fall of her chest, the girl might have been mistaken for being asleep on her feet. The glyph rotated, its revolutions increasing in pace as the seconds went by. Likewise, the magnitude of its illumination followed, going from a mere flicker to being near-blinding. It was a decent progress so far, if what Shirou had seen on previous occasions were any indication. Reaching out with his senses, he could detect, if only faintly, a steady stream of Aura keeping the pseudo summoning circle alive.
At a very basic and visual level, her Semblance bore a number of similarities to the ritual that brought into existence the Servants that fought in the Holy Grail War. A circular symbol inscribed with near unreadable writings that spewed light when fed energy and from which a "familiar" of sorts would materialise to answer the calls of its summoner and obey their commands. Had he mentioned such a thing in the presence of a certain Second Owner, he would likely have his head chewed off for ignoring the vast differences in the technical aspects of the two, before being forced to sit through a several hour-long explanation on the details of said differences. The thought alone was enough to make Shirou smile.
Weiss' breathing hitched. It was a miniscule change but one that Shirou noticed nonetheless due to the sudden spike in the flow of Aura that connected her to the glyph. Rather than a steady stream, the light began to pulse while its rotations became erratic, varying its speed at non-uniform intervals.
'What went wrong? Everything seemed fine until a moment ago.' Shirou frowned as the Aura spikes became more prominent. 'There were no external influences that could have affected her as far as I could tell. A lapse in concentration perhaps?'
Rather unexpectedly, the glyph flickered and died out. Had the process simply failed on its own, or had it stop due to Weiss cutting off the Aura that kept it going, Shirou did not know. Her shoulders slumped, Myrtenaster scraping the ground as her arms went slack at her sides. With a quiet sigh, Shirou walked over to where she stood, her white bangs obscuring her features even as her head remained bowed.
Weiss slowly straightened at his approach but did not look at him. "I suppose this is where you tell me that it was a good effort and I need to try again," she said bitterly. Her knuckles had turned white from how hard she was gripping her rapier.
"What happened?" Shirou simply asked, choosing to gently guide the conversation in a safer direction.
Weiss shook her head in frustration. "I don't know."
"Did this same thing occur when you tried summoning with your Semblance in the past?"
The shake turned into a nod. "It did, yes. Whenever it happens, it gets difficult to breathe, and there's a sort of pressure at the back of my head. After that it just becomes worse when I try to get it back under control, like you just saw."
The problem was not apparent, at least not to Shirou, who could only scratch his head and go through potential solutions. "You mentioned that your Semblance is hereditary. Do you know if there are any cases of this happening to past users, some kind of records that were made by your family?"
"If there are any, then I wasn't informed of their existence. My sister, Winter, is the only other person in my family that I've seen perform summoning with our Semblance, but I've never asked her about the times when she was still in training," Weiss admitted. "All I know is that when she was as old as I am now, she had already mastered its use for combat."
She breathed a sigh. "Winter's in the Atlas military, and that doesn't afford her much in the way of free time. I could write her a letter like I always do, but it will take her days if not longer to reply, especially if she is conducting an operation."
'I suppose that Weiss at least has someone she can seek proper advice from, and that is all that really matters right now.'
"I think you should still get your sister's opinion on the matter," Shirou pointed out. "We can practice all we want here, but the results are unlikely to be better than if you have guidance from someone who probably had experienced the same things you did. It's fine even if you don't get a response from her immediately. We have time, so there's no need to rush. Pushing ahead blindly could cause more harm in the long run if you end up hurting yourself in the process."
"You're right. There's no point in doing something as dangerous as experimenting with it if I can get help with it." Weiss took the towel Shirou offered and dabbed away the sweat on her brow. "What now?"
Shirou turned to where the other half of their team was still engaged in an intense close-combat exchange, utilising the training area beside theirs. Ruby was darting about, dodging blows which, while fast, held no real force behind them. Every now and then, his partner would disappear in a flurry of blood-red petals before her body reformed behind her sister. When she did, Ruby would reach out and tap Yang on the back or shoulder, the action causing the blonde to halt her attacks. The two would then shuffle a distance from each other, restarting their exercise and continuing until Ruby could circumvent the oncoming blow with her Semblance before the cycle repeated yet again.
It honestly surprised Shirou, and not in a bad way. He had expected that progress would be a lot slower since the first time was nothing more than a fluke, but Ruby had apparently gotten a rough idea of how to replicate that initial and very accidental success, and was making visible improvements in that very training session alone. Of course, there was still a large amount of unpredictability involved. Only one out of every dozen or so attempts appeared to succeed, and Shirou had to remind himself that that was already a remarkable achievement for so short a time, even if it meant that she could not yet use it during actual combat.
"Ruby's doing really well," Weiss remarked. A moment later she laughed softly. "A week back, and we both were stuck with our Semblances. Now look at her. At the rate she's going, I fully expect Ruby to perfect her control by the end of the semester. It's quite amazing."
Shirou gave his agreement, but noted a strange light in the eyes of the girl standing next to him. It was an unusual sight, one he had not seen before from Weiss and thus was unable to identify on the spot. Taking a second look, he observed that her smile was ever so slightly strained, as though a part of her did not agree with that physical gesture. Realisation dawned on him.
"Weiss, are you by any chance envious of Ruby's progress?"
Her cheeks flushed. "I've no idea what you're talking about," Weiss answered evasively, not at all meeting his gaze. She turned sharply to glare at Shirou when he smiled indulgently. "It's not funny!"
"As Yang would probably say, you've finally found something that money can't buy," Shirou replied.
Weiss scowled. "You've been hanging around my partner for too long." She let the scowl drop, replacing it with a disgruntled pout. "One Yang is more than enough for a lifetime. I don't need another."
At least it appeared that his little ploy had worked. It had sufficiently distracted the Schnee from what would have been a rather negative train of thought and the detraction from their earlier discussion on her Semblance had allowed Weiss to calm herself down, both physically and mentally. If they were going to continue, it was best that she started from a clean slate, without being overly influenced by her previous failed attempts.
"You'll find no disagreements from me on that. Now, do you want to try again?" Shirou suggested, giving voice to an idea he had conceived that very instance. "But let's try something different this time. There are a series of steps I use when I Trace my weapons. The end result will be different because what you are creating are not weapons, but the processes are similar in that we're both trying to give form to something we have in our mind. I was thinking that you could adapt the steps I use when you attempt your summoning."
Weiss showed no opposition to the idea, and instead appeared intrigued. Taking that as a good sign, Shirou continued. "When I Trace a sword, or any other object, among the first things that I consider are the materials used, the process by which the sword was made, and the physical structure of the weapon. These provide a concrete framework for the item that I am trying to create, before I move onto the next steps. Likewise, I think you can use a similar process for your Semblance. Picture as clear as possible the thing you are attempting to summon, but start from something simple instead of trying to form the entire image at once. Fill in the details with whatever information you have one step at a time, and it should be easier for you to give it a material form."
"And if what I'm trying to create is a Grimm or something that is… or was alive as opposed to inanimate objects?"
"The same principles should apply. Don't try to do it all at once. I suspect that may be one of the problems affecting your summoning. You're probably trying to feed your Semblance all the information at one go, which could be more than it can handle with your current level of control. Either that or it's because you're missing out details and the image you have is incomplete in some way. Why not give it a try? If you take it slow, it might be easier to stop if something goes wrong."
Weiss hesitated for a brief second, before straightening her posture. Her arm flicked out but before she could summon a glyph, Shirou gently placed one hand on her shoulder.
"Calm yourself," Shirou said. "Your heart rate is still elevated, and you're too tense. Don't worry about it, even if you don't succeed this time. I believe that you can get a breakthrough in time."
Weiss visibly relaxed after a few seconds. "Thank you, Shirou. I think I'm calm now."
He removed his hand from her shoulder and watched as Weiss inhaled slowly and deliberately. Her eyes closed, white Aura shimmering along the edges of her form. That Aura was then channelled into the ground, where a glyph sprung to life.
"First, picture the creation, and focus on its physical form. Start with basics – it's size, general shape, body structure. Simple information."
The heiress gave a curt nod. There was a slight frown on her face as she concentrated.
"Weiss, are you okay?" He got a single curt nod in response. "Alright. If you have the structure down, then focus on other physical characteristics. Fur, claws, wings, tail. Does it have armour and if so, which parts of its body? How many limbs are there?"
The glyph shone brighter.
"Lastly, focus on the behaviour you'd expect from it. How it attacks and responds to aggression."
It occurred yet again, but this time more violent than the previous. Shirou dashed forward and caught Weiss by the shoulders when her body jerked backwards and nearly fell over. The flow of Aura had surged out, as though being forcibly drawn in by the glyph. Weiss' eyes snapped open and she gasped in pain from the shock.
But unlike before, the glyph remained, pulsing steadily. It lifted off from the ground and was even then suspended in the air. Before the two pairs of astonished eyes, a singular armoured hand materialised out of the summoning glyph. It stopped at its wrist, leaving the disembodied hand to float unsupported.
"It… worked?" Weiss murmured, blinking rapidly in disbelief. The instant the words left her lips, the hand broke apart into shimmering motes of light.
Shirou nearly jolted into action when she dropped onto a knee, calming down when he saw that she had not lost consciousness and was merely fatigued. Weiss tilted her head to look at him when he called out her name. There was an uncertainty about the way she looked at him questioningly. Perhaps she thought that he would be disappointed by what little progress there was despite following his instructions.
"Well done. That was a good first step to take. It wasn't very much, yes, but it is still more than you had ever accomplished before today. So there is really no reason to feel down about it."
Weiss brightened up considerably. She noticed her position relative to Shirou and quickly pushed herself off. "Thank you, but I can stand on my own now. You're right; I shouldn't be too greedy. It feels great to finally make some progress."
"Just remember not to push yourself too hard," Shirou cautioned. "I could even see your Aura go out of control, even if it was only for a second or two, so I'm sure that you felt it too. If you're going to practice, make sure that at least one of the three of us are with you just in case something happens."
'There was some progress, but it's too early to conclude that it was anything other than a fluke like Ruby's case.'
She noticed the worries that Shirou was harbouring from how he looked away with narrowed eyes, and reached out to touch his arm. "I'll get one of you to accompany me whenever I practice. I promise." Her lips curled upwards. "After all, I don't want to get hurt any more than you want me to."
Shirou found no answer to that remark and simply shook his head, watching as Weiss holstered her rapier before dusting down her combat skirt. She clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head to look across the expanse of space. "Looks like Ruby and Yang are done as well."
He followed suit, his eyes traversing over the distance.
Ruby was lying flat on the ground, with Yang standing over her with arms crossed and a look of exasperation. The blonde was saying something that Shirou could not hear from where he stood, but judging by the way Ruby was turning her head aside and refusing to look at her sister, there was really no need to hear them to understand what went on.
It appeared that Shirou would once again need to have words with his partner.
0-0-0
"Here's the info you wanted." Mercury pulled out a scroll and handed it to his employer, who took it and silently browsed the videos of all the challenges he had been instructed to partake in, along with notes of anything he had noticed and deemed to be of special interest. It had taken him many days of putting himself into the ring against talented students such as the Mistral Champion to learn about their skills and Semblance. It was not an easy assignment by any means, and not a painless one either.
Minutes later, Cinder looked up.
"Good work, Mercury. This is more than enough for now." Before Mercury could sigh in relief at the conclusion of his task, Cinder added. "But keep an eye out for any others that we might have missed. We need to know of anyone that could pose a threat. More information is always better than less."
The assassin swallowed his protest. For the umpteenth time, he cursed the fact that he had been singled out for that job. He knew that there were no one else. Emerald needed to keep a low profile until the Vytal Festival where her Semblance was needed most, and Roman's midget was gone more than she was around, doing God knows what. Cinder herself was out of the question. Really, that left only him.
"I got it. I'll go check out the second year teams again," he replied dutifully, shooting a sideways glare at his green-haired partner who was grinning snidely at him from behind a book. "Although, it would be helpful to have a second set of eyes. I can't notice all the important details if I'm in the middle of a match, after all."
If he was going to be shackled with work, then so was Emerald.
"A fair point. Emerald, be sure to accompany Mercury and assist him in his duties."
Emerald fumed but could not refuse the direct order from Cinder.
"Anything else you wish to add, Mercury?" Cinder asked, pocketing the scroll.
"I got nothing." He wished that he had more information on that Shirou fellow, but the boy had played things close to the chest and was in fact strong enough to win even without the use of his Semblance. Either way, he had not managed to push the kid far enough to force him to reveal it. If Mercury had taken the fight seriously from the start, things would have been very different. But he had his instructions, ones that forbade him from showing his full range of techniques. As much as they needed information, it was not worth the risk of outing themselves or over showing their hand at such an early juncture.
Nevertheless, he did not expect to lose even when holding back. That had been a surprise, and not a very pleasant one at that, no matter how much he had enjoyed the thrill of the challenge. Defeat never was.
That still left the worrisome issue of the first year kid's potential, an opinion that Cinder had agreed with when he voiced it; she had been there to witness that match in particular, and had fortunately come to the same conclusion as him.
'If that kid was already that good without a Semblance, then how dangerous would he be when he uses one?' Mercury discovered that he did not like the answer he arrived at for the seemingly innocuous question.
0-0-0
The knocking on their door caught the attention of the room's four residents. Yang twisted her head and waved lazily. "Hey, Rubes. Go see who it is."
Ruby grumbled but got up from the desk, putting down her gun catalogue with great reluctance. She reached over and yanked the door open. Her eyes brightened at the person behind it. "Oh, hi Jaune! What's up?"
The blond smiled down at her. "Nothing much, really. Say, is Weiss in?"
"Hmm? Yeah, she's here." Ruby stepped aside so that Jaune could see the girl in question sitting on the edge of her bed.
Weiss sighed before glancing up with a distinctive tick of irritation. "What is it this time, Arc?"
Jaune scratched his head awkwardly, shuffling from foot to foot. The next instance, he straightened his back. What surprised the four members of Team RXSE was how his he had dropped his normal carefree behaviour, instead bearing a more neutral gaze. Even Weiss realised the difference and had put down her book to stare at him in impatience and mild curiosity.
"So? What do you want?"
Jaune bit his lip but did not falter.
"There's something I need to tell you."
Omake: Disaster's Genesis
"What is this?" Ozpin looked down at a large pile of rectangular golden objects strewn on his table. He picked one up and turned it about, glancing over it with an analytical eye. Aside from a simple raised pattern on one side, they were nondescript enough that he wouldn't have thought twice about them. He tapped them against the edge of his table, hearing the faint sound of metal striking wood.
"Those, my friend, are the key to my latest little amus-I mean, project."
The Headmaster glared at the grinning old man sitting opposite him. He already felt the headache coming. "What project?"
A binder manifested out of the air and crashed onto Ozpin's table. Placing one hand on the cover, the Magician swivelled it around to face Ozpin, who sighed upon seeing the four words scribbled almost illegibly on its face.
"Beacon's Holy Grail War"
Zelretch's smile widened. "So, interested?"
… To be continued?
Author Notes
Hello again and thank you for reading.
Right, so where do I start? Sorry for the wait, I know it's been really long. I just finished my final semester of university, which was what took up all my time for the past few months. I still had intended to write whenever I could, but halfway through I realised that I needed to put all my time into studies, so I took a break from writing entirely to focus on projects and exams and all that crap. The upside? School's done, and graduation is up next. I also have until October when my job starts (I found one). Now hopefully, I can get back to a regular release schedule.
That omake… it's a teaser for what I intend to be a string of interconnected omakes in the future. Servant summoning shenanigans, whacky Master-Servant pairings and all that. Of course, there will be other random omakes whenever I think up one. As you might already be able to tell from my previous omakes, I prefer high octane levels of randomness mixed with either Nasuverse references or voice actor allusions.
Will Professor Port summon Julius Caesar, his fellow rotund man in a red suit? Will Qrow's misfortune become the catalyst for summoning a Lancer class? Will Ozpin even have an Academy when it's all over? We might never know. Stay tuned.
This and the next chapter were planned as a pair, only because the content is linked so as to close off the Beacon Dance mini arc. Yet if this chapter is any indication, the next is probably also going to be one heck of a pain to write. Took a long time to review and get to a level I consider satisfactory. Along the way I kinda reached the point where I went "alright, this is probably as good as I'll get for this" and stopped trying to look for areas of improvement, because otherwise this chapter might never be released with how it had gone.
Finally, there has been a fanwork by Alex-kellar on deviant art of the scene in chapter 3 where Shirou properly meets Yang and Ruby for the first time. You can search the artist's name on google or paste this link (minus the spaces) to find the piece. It's really well done.
alex-kellar. devia ntart art /Oops -743450074
I really want to say thank you for this piece of art, but I feel that words alone are unable to convey just how humbled and amazed I was to find that someone had done something like this. This is actually one thing I never expected would happen for this story of mine, so… thanks. I don't know what else I can say.
There's really not much more this time, except look out for the next chapter. There will be a special announcement regarding certain things I plan to do with this story going forward. Let's just say that it being the chapter that concludes the Beacon Dance arc makes it the most appropriate time for the subject matter.