1.) I'm so so sorry for this! I think my execution was a little... off. It didn't help that I was running blind. Yeah, this experiment was a little too tough for an amateur like me to handle. Sorry again!
2.) For those who liked the first chapter - its serious yet light hearted tone - you may like this chapter. I toned down the craziness a little to actually be able to cap off the story. And yes, this is the final chapter. I might be able to fill in the holes at a later time, but I have no plans (or time) to fix it.
3.) The winners of the poll have been sneaked in pretty slyly, though it isn't too hard to figure out the winners. Besides, you can just check my profile if you really want to know.
Disclaimer still in effect
Enjoy!
Final Chapter: Exeunt
"High school's finally over," muttered Shirou Emiya, walking down the same old winding path from Homurahara Gakuen to the residential district with Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou by his side. It was the graduation of Shirou's batch, and it was his last day of being a high school boy. Soon he was to face many obstacles and make many decisions in his quest to save as many as possible, but that wasn't what he wanted to focus on. All he wanted to do was relax, if even for a moment.
He had finally dealt with the True Grail fiasco of the past.
After much negotiation, everyone agreed to part with the Grail Shards. (Well, everyone but Shirano, who couldn't part with the Shard even if she wanted to. Shirou would have to work on that.) They were just too much trouble. Luckily, everyone survived the sudden loss of infatuation and drive, and the Emiya residence was as vacant as it was since before the Holy Grail War. Magi like Luvia went back to their various organizations to continue their research, certain ghosts like Ilya have finally found no reason to stay in the realm and left as a result, mundane people like Yukika no longer felt the urge to be near Shirou and went their own oath, and all in all, everyone who wasn't dependent on the Magus Killer's son had left. That cut the count from a whopping twenty-four girls living in his house to a decent three, six if you counted Rin, Sakura, and Rider. It was still a good amount of people, especially if you tossed Taiga into the number of dependents, but it was way more bearable than twenty-four. And that was it. There would be no more Emiya-Alarms, no more female frenzies, no more infatuation induced OOC-ness.
And Shirou was happy.
"Not for me..." shyly commented Sakura, whose dark side had disappeared along with the Shard. "I still have one more year to go." Shirou decided to flash her a smile of empathy, while Rin tussled the violet-haired girl's hair, messing it up. Sakura pouted, but didn't put up any more protest.
"It's better that way, Sakura," said the eldest of the two siblings. Speaking about the pig-tailed magus, she brought her left hand to her right elbow with her right hand and index finger pointed skyward: Tohsaka Lecture Position #1. Shirou flinched out of habit: whenever that thing was directed at him, he knew that he would always come out with either a bruised body or a bruised ego. Or both. Luckily, Sakura wasn't trained to be afraid on sight, and he knew that Rin reserved all her most stinging insults for him, so Sakura would most likely be spared the damage. "Once I get to the Clock Tower, I can establish some connections that might make it easier to let you in. By the way..."
From the tingling feeling on his neck, Shirou could tell that Rin was giving him her full attention. Whether that was a good thing or not is up to you to decide. "...Are you going to the Clock Tower too, Shirou?"
"I might, but my dad's made a lot of enemies. Plus, if anyone finds out that I have a Reality Marble, I'll get slapped with a Sealing Designation for sure." Speaking about his Reality Marble, it did not revert to normal. It was still Unlimited Harem Works. His world now revolved around the people – the women, to be specific – around him. Sure, he still liked to save people, but now, the people closest to him took priority. It wasn't exactly how that guy wanted it – Shirou still lacked the self-preservation he wanted - but it would have to do for now. "I'll think about it. Why are you asking?"
"Because you destroyed the diary- journal I gave you," said Rin, referencing the seemingly mundane journal from the first chapter. It happened in the blink of an eye. On one particular night, Shirou was finally writing down the name of the person closest to his heart, and just before he reached the girl's name... the book blew up in Rin's face.
"You know what I'm talking about, Rin," countered Shirou, trying his best not to give her anything more than stoicism. Anything more than that would only give satisfaction to the pig-tailed magus, and that wouldn't do. Rin was scary when she had what she wanted. Shirou fished into his pockets for the keys to his house. Sure, he could simply project keys – anything he's ever seen in a woman's hands would be stored in his Reality Marble – but he preferred to not be too reliant on his Magecraft. Whipping out the needed tool, Shirou unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway... where his jaw dropped to the floor. "Holy grail!"
"...Happy Birthday?" asked Shirou to no one in particular. That was what the banner said. And it seemed to be a happy celebration indeed. Saber was having a lighthearted conversation with Riesbyfe, Atalanta and Joan of Arc about Noble Phantasms (and cars), Ghostly Ilya played a few card games with Ayaka, Tamamo no Mae, and Shirano (where the ghastly girl seemed to suspiciously be winning each time), Hisui, whose sister was occupied in the kitchen, was cleaning up Ciel's curry-caked face, Rider was having a staring contest with Shiki Ryougi (both had their Mystic Eyes inactive, of course), Luvia and Akiha were talking about possible future partnerships between the two noble juggernauts, Yukika was talking to Ayako about college stuff, while the Stray Servant and Aoko were trying to get Alice to laugh, to no avail. "W-What!?"
"While the Fourth Grail War was anything but leisurely, the vehicles that I got to mount were exquisite- Shirou?" said Saber, noticing the boy at the hallway.
"Shirou?" said Rider, looking away from Shiki's deadly eyes and costing her the match. She didn't really care though: she was bored of looking at the girl's mug for however long the match lasted. Little did she know that they stared at each other for three hours.
"Surprise, Shirou," said Rin from behind his back. He shivered, much to her satisfaction.
"Master's Beloved!" acknowledged Tamamo no Mae, accidentally dropping her cards. Next to her, Ilya whipped her intangible body to face the boy.
"Onii-chan!" cheered Ilya, who didn't make the same mistake as Tamamo. She definitely wasn't going to do that when she was on a great streak.
"I'm sorry for not telling you, Senpai," said Sakura, "but you'd be against the idea of celebrating your birthday because it's 'not worth the trouble of celebrating' or something."
"...Shirou," said Joan of Arc, who was still a little guilty of the past events. Even if she was forgiven, her pride still wouldn't let her get back up till she paid the debt back in full.
"Shirou, you're late," said Aoko, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. The smile she gave him chilled him to the bone.
"Hello, Shirou," said Ayaka, giving the boy a small-yet-warm smile. The magus recovered enough to smile back out of reflex.
"How art thou, Shirou?" said Atalanta, who straightened her back up to be as presentable as possible. Too bad she let her old accent out.
Turning away from Akiha, Luvia made sure to address the boy. "Hello, Shirou. I see you still have yet to join the Association. Mind if I lend a hand?"
"Shirou," said Shiki Ryougi, not really satisfied by her victory against Medusa. She made a mental note to challenge the Gorgon again.
"Shirou!" cheered Kokone, the Stray Servant, waving the arm with her shield strapped on to it at him. He waved back out of habit.
"H-Hello, Shirou," said Shirano timidly, bowing her head a little in respect to the one who saved her life and the guy who offered to shelter her.
"Chiwou," muttered Ciel, back straight to give off a respectable aura. Too bad the image was ruined by the stuffed mouth.
"Shirou, it's a pleasure to meet you again," said Akiha, bowing to the boy.
"Shirou," said Riesbyfe, saluting the boy.
Kohaku, peeking her head out of the kitchen, smiled. "Good day, Shi-"
"-rou," completed Hisui, who stood ever vigilant by Ciel's side with a handkerchief in hand.
"Shirou Emiya," said Alice in a monotone, her expression not brightening in the slightest.
"Oi, Shirou! One more round of archery before I leave for Toudai: what do ya say?" proposed Ayako.
"Um... hello, Emiya-san," said Yukika, not knowing (remembering) why everyone stopped what they were doing just to greet him.
"...Hello, everyone," said Shirou, who was slowly starting to regain his bearings. Why was everyone there? Sure, the appearances of the likes of Ayaka and Luvia could be easily explained, and seeing Joan of Arc, Aoko and Shiki could be explained with out too much trouble, but there were just some people that should not have been there. Ilya was a prime example. He saw her peacefully fade away. How was she back? Also, how did they figure out his birthday? Even HE didn't know his birthday! Sure, with the right calculations... "Erm... care to explain?"
The girls all looked at each other, feral grins appearing on their faces. It scared Shirou sh*tless, though it was oddly nostalgic to him. "Charge!"
As a bunch of women made a beeline for him, with Rin and oddly enough Sakura holding him in place, he wondered if Gaia was trying to destroy his existence. If so, it was doing a pretty good job. "Wait wait wait- gwah!"
4.) And that ends this very... interesting series. Looking back, the start was fine. Maybe if characters were more developed, or maybe if it wasn't so rushed. Introducing a new character every week is a bad idea, and I sadly learned that the hard way. Oh well, I'll do better with my next fic. Anyway, I hope you liked the story, even if it was hugely flawed.
Till we meet again...
Till we meet again...