We meet again, people! Here I bring you the next chapter of this crossover. In the poll I did after my previous update, this story ended up winning, so as promised, here's the first interlude before the next arc. And before you think this is a filler chapter, let me tell you that, while the main theme is indeed humor, there are still serious conversations.
Now, speaking of the previous chapters, it made me so happy seeing that you liked them. I warmly appreciate all the support I received in the reviews and PM. Although I aswered the reviews through PM at that time, I was unable to answer guest reviews, so I will do exactly that now.
One of the questions I received the most was "When will King of Fakers use the Unlimited Blade Works?" The answer to that question is complicated if you don't want to get spoiled. Though I can tell you, the story is pretty close to getting to that point. The original story of Date a Live has a story arc dedicated to each spirit, one for the final battle, a final arc in which the story is closed, and finally, the most important arc to answer this question, the arc centered on Shidou himself.
If you don't mind the spoilers, then let me tell you that I plan on that arc being a turning point for this story. In fact, I'm so eager to write that arc that I've practically already planned the script.
Moving on to other questions, regarding the spirits learning more about the past of King of Fakers, I plan to dedicate another interlude chapter to that topic. That also includes the visual novel and the cycle of dreams.
I've also been asked about if I was going to write the classic beach episode. I save that chapter for when this Shidou has conquered more spirits. I have a pretty hilarious idea for that chapter. And as for whether I'll include the Date a Live games, if I do, it will likely be in the form of special chapters. I mean, an AI asking the EX-rank density what is love is a joke that stands on its own.
Now, as for the recommendation I received to play "Date a Live Spirit Pledge"... well... playing "Fate/ Grand Order" is bad enough for my mental health, so playing another gacha game might get me sent to an asylum. I mean, I threw 120 SQ at Sitonai and what I got instead was an Altera! RATE UP IS A LIE! I WANTED MY KAWAI ILLYA-FACE!
Ehem, well, I think that's enough of me talking. Let the chapter begin!
Disclaimer: I don't own any right over Type-Moon, the Fate franchise or Date a live.
Itsuka Kotori pursed her lips as she looked at the images displayed on the screen in front of her commander's seat.
Although she was putting on a fairly convincing neutral mask, all the crew members knew that behind that mask, she was quite uneasy. However, they all agreed not to say anything about it as they knew the reason behind her concern.
After all, they too had witnessed it.
The image the commander of the Fraxinus was looking at was one they had captured a few days ago, during the Tohka rescue incident. In particular, the image showed Itsuka Shidou, Kotori's brother, wrapped in a dense white aura formed of pure spiritual energy, and holding in his hands the hilt of a golden sword whose beauty was indescribable.
Although all had gone well in the end, and everyone had returned home safe and sound, Kotori could not help feeling agitated.
Her gaze rested on her hand, more specifically, on the little device she was holding in it. The object looked like a remote control with a single red button, like the ones used to detonate remote explosives.
However, as insignificant as the device might seem, it actually had great meaning for Kotori. It was a reminder. A reminder that, despite everything having returned to normal, the "worst ending" could still happen.
If the button of that remote was pressed, the satellite called Dainsleif that Ratatoskr had monitoring Itsuka Shidou twenty-four hours a day, would fire at him the most powerful mana cannon they had created. That was the backup plan they had in the remote event that the sealed spiritual power in Shidou's body got out of control, and he became a threat to humanity.
As his younger sister, Kotori volunteered to be the one to carry the burden of killing Shidou. Therefore, she was the only one who had been entrusted with that a remote control.
It was a possibility that until now Kotori believed practically impossible. But the images in front of her showed that actually, the odds were not so small.
She remembered that moment as if it were yesterday. The moment when a certain alarm sounded on the Fraxinus bridge. An alarm that would only ring at the moment when Shidou's reading of spiritual waves would surpass that of various spirits together.
Kotori nearly pressed the button at that time. If it weren't for the fact that she started hyperventilating and almost had a heart attack just because of the thought she was about to kill her beloved Onii-chan, she would have pressed the button. In fact, her finger was resting on it while Shidou was performing that flawless technique to leave "Tohka" wide open and kiss her.
The relief she felt at seeing that he was still the same as always when he woke up the next day was immeasurable.
There was also that sword he projected. That must have been a noble phantasm, as it wasn't in their database of angels. However, the reading they got of the power he fired was huge, overshadowing even Tohka's ultimate sword, which was the most powerful angel on record.
If Shidou had fired his attack directly at Tohka at that time, she had no doubt that he would certainly have killed her. However, he aimed the huge beam of light upward, also redirecting Tohka's attack.
When the girls asked him what was that sword he had used, he simply said that it was the most powerful weapon in his arsenal, the pinnacle of holy swords, and that it had hardly been a shadow of what was the original.
From there the conversation passed to how many swords Shidou had at his disposal, and he replied that he lost count long after one hundred thousand. Kotori would like to think that her brother was joking on a rare occasion, but, after dreaming several times about that hill of swords, she no longer knew what to think...
Returning to the subject in question, Kotori still thought it was a miracle that her brother came out of that incident without much repercussions. Yeah, he couldn't move for a day, and he had parts of his body numb for the last week, but according to Reine's checkups, there was no permanent damage to his body.
According to the Analysis Officer, he momentarily broke the seal keeping the spiritual power in his body under control and used the overflowing energy to project the sword and pull off that attack.
The only "permanent damage" if you can call it that, that Shidou suffered was more strands of his hair turning white, and some patches of skin on his arms getting burned, adopting a tan color.
That made Shidou even more like that nameless hero who died on top of the hill of swords, further increasing Kotori's anxiety.
She knew the only way to get the answers she wanted was to ask Shidou directly. He was a bad liar, and although he did not admit it, he had a weakness for his younger sister, so Kotori had confidence that he would eventually answer her questions.
However... did she really have the right to do so?
She still kept things from him, the remote in her hand was an example of it. Besides, knowing her brother, the most certain thing was that, if he didn't want to speak about it, then surely it was for their own good... right?
The thing is... she didn't know what to think anymore. One part of her wanted to trust her Onii-chan and respect his privacy, while the other wanted to get the answer to those questions to ease her concern.
At the moment, there was only one thing she could do while she was still deciding her course of action.
Kotori put the remote in one of the pockets of her red jacket, and pulled out a pen drive from another pocket.
A little before the incident with Miku and Tohka's abduction, the spirits began to insistently ask her and Reine to buy them a PC for the apartment for the spirits.
When she discovered the reason behind that, she couldn't help but blink several times like an owl.
Apparently, the girls had become addicted to playing that mysterious visual novel that Shidou brought home the day he met Miku. According to them, the story of the novel was somehow related to Shidou, so perhaps she could find the answers she needed by reading this novel.
Of course, she'd have to find free time to do it. If the commander were to play an eroge during working hours, what kind of example would she be setting for her crew?
Little did Kotori know at that time that she would end up as addicted to that visual novel as the other spirits.
"Onore! Onore, onoreonoreonoreonore! I did not think I would have to use my sword against a lowlfie like you... !"
Gilgamesh raises his hand. The sword appearing behind him is the demonic sword, the only sword that does not exist in this world!
"I won't let you...!"
"Gah-!?"
I swing my twin swords. The Kanshou and Bakuya I reel in slice off Gilgamesh's arm that tries to reach for his sword!
"Wha...!"
The weapons stop. His arm and sword fall to the ground, leaving him defenseless.
"Haaaah!"
My body acts before I can think. Confident in my victori, my limbs move to slash the King of Heroes!
"...!"
He jumps back. Barely avoiding my twin swords, Gilgamesh retreats still further.
"Kuh...! I shall grant you this! You are stronger than me here...!"
Gilgamesh admits his defeat and tries to retreat.
At that moment, a smile came across Shidou's face.
Anyone who knew the golden-eyed boy would be left with their jaws dropped at the sight of such an image,
Certainly, seeing Shidou smile wasn't something that can be seen many times, though lately he did it more often.
The reason was quite simple. He was a broken person. A part of him died in that fire in which it could be said he had been born in his former life.
That left a void in him. A void that he later learned to fill in a single way. Helping others.
Dedicating his life to making others happy was the only thing he found that could fill that void, and therefore the only way to find happiness.
However, that was not why Shidou was smiling at the moment. In fact, the smile on his face was not one of happiness. It was a wicked smile that would give goose bumps to anyone that saw it.
Part of the reason behind this was the scene of the visual novel that was shown on the computer screen in front of him, and that he was reading aloud.
Seeing how the arrogant King of Heroes was humiliated by Emiya Shirou gave Shidou a sense of pleasure that he had never experienced. Maybe his sister was really influencing him.
The thing is that in this iteration of the Holy Grail War, Emiya Shirou was the one who went to fight the King of Heroes. The golden servant, unlike in his fight against the King of Fakers, held back further, refusing to even recognize Shirou as an opponent.
That led to a humiliating defeat, where he was defeated without even being able to use his most powerful weapon. And the funny thing about it was, this wasn't the biggest humiliation that Gilgamesh suffered in the visual novel. His death on another route was even worse.
His death at the hands of Saber on the first route was somewhat excusable. Avalon is just op.
However, his death at the hands of Matou Sakura on the third route was inexcusable. Making sure that your opponent is really dead is just logical. But more than that, if he knew what he was facing, why the hell did he just fire noble phantasms at her instead of using them? He didn't even need to kill her. He just needed to severe her conection with the demon inside the Grail! And he has plenty of tools to make that inside his treasury.
That wasn't being too proud anymore. That was being a damn lazy-ass.
Not that Shidou wished that Gilgamesh would have killed the poor girl. Quite the opposite.
But, the main reason Shidou was smiling like that was the person sitting on his bed, reading the novel with him.
He turned to look at the golden girl's red eyes, and spoke to her while barely containing the laughter. "And it's for things like this that I say that pride and chivalry have no place in a real battle Mana. If you have the power to crush your opponent, do so without hesitation."
Judging by the way "Mana" was glaring at him, Shidou knew that Gilgamesh was on the driving seat right now. His biological sister had been laughing nonstop until a couple of minutes ago.
If the King of Heroes had been in his body, his gaze would surely have made even some heroic spirits shit their pants.
However, being in the body of a 13-year-old girl, what should have been a murderous glare turned into an irresistibly cute pout.
"Pft!" Shidou couldn't repress it anymore and burst out laughing. "Fuahahahahahhahahaha!"
From so much laughter he had to grab his stomach, and almost fell from the chair.
"Mana" clenched 'his' fists, 'his' body trembling with barely repressed anger. "Damn you Faker! You made me come here just to laugh at me! I'll exterminate you right now!" Then 'his' eyes lowered to look at 'his' chest, as if 'he' was trying to look at 'himself'. "And you stop laughing too! Just because you are my retainer does not mean you can laugh at your king!"
Just because of this, Shidou could say that, despite his initial doubts, he was grateful to the Old Man of the jewels for giving him this visual novel.
"Aah..." He sighed as he sat back in the chair and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life."
"Mana" snarled, gesturing to close the Gate of Babylon in a rare gesture of self-control.
"I expect you to have another reason to show me this, Faker. And it better be good."
Shidou's expression became completely serious. "Of course. Aside from spending time with my biological sister and giving her some tips, I wanted to show you the gift that the Kaleidoscope gave us. By the way, he told me to give you his regards."
Gilgamesh grimaced. "I should have known better. Of course this is the work of that old bloodsucker. Well? Did he say anything else?"
"Aside from giving some pretty far-fetched clues as to how we ended up here, he didn't say much else. According to him it had something to do with the demon inside the the Holy Grail."
"That malformation... Anyway, you're aware that with that, our secret's days are numbered, right?"
"Yeah. Though I doubt you of all people care about that in the slightless."
An arrogant smile formed on "Mana's" lips. "Hmph. Why should the King hide his greatness from the mongrels? The only reason I decide to play along your facade is because of my retainer. In the last battle against those lowlifes I made sure to give them a taste of my power."
Shidou merely looked at him with a blank expression, until suddenly the wicked smile formed again on his lips.
With quick moves, he loaded another stored file, right in the scene where the shadow of the Holy Grail devoured Gilgamesh.
"Mana" frowned with annoyance at the scene, and ended up doing another pout. "That's not me, damn it! That "me" is too stupid to really be me!"
Shidou chuckled again before returning to his serious attitude. "Returning to our business, this, added to the dreams they have about my past, I really doubt that girls will take long to start asking questions."
"And why don't you just tell them, Faker? I do not think it is that hard. Plus, you have this visual novel to support you as you explain things to them."
In that regard, Zelretch wasn't actually lying when he said that this "gift" was going to help him. At least it would save him a lot of explaining. Still...
"I'm not so sure about that..."
Red eyes looked deep into golden eyes. This was the first time the King of Heroes saw the man in front of him so doubtful.
"I see. You're afraid things changing if you reveal your true identite, huh? I never thought I'd see someone as simple-minded as your have those kinds of thoughts."
Shidou was sure he should feel insulted, but ignored it and focused on the first thing goldie said.
Actually, Shidou himself didn't know why he was so reluctant to reveal his identiti to his sister and the spirits. He thought it was his old habits pulling him, but what Gilgamesh said made a lot more sense.
Unconsciously, he had gotten used to his current way of life with Kotori and the girls. Part of him appreciated these moments, and was afraid that if he revealed his true identity to them, nothing would ever be the same.
Before Shidou said anything, Gilgamesh continued. "Well, I'm not your psychologist, so you're going to have to find it out by yourself. Besides, watching you suffer with your love life and your harem is unexpectedly a good form of entertainment."
Upon hearing a certain word, Shidou's right eyebrow began to tremble. "It's not a harem, damn it! I don't see them that way!"
"Hoh? And what are they to you then?"
Shidou opened his mouth to reply, but a few seconds later he closed it without saying anything. The truth was, he didn't have an answer to that question
After spending so much time with Tohka and the others, it was obvious that they were more than acquaintances.
With such an intimate relationship, and after going on dates with them, anyone would think they were his girlfriends. But for some reason, thinking of them that way didn't sit well with him.
However, from a logical point of view, they could not be just friends either. Their relationship was too intimate after all the things that they've been throught together.
Seeing that the golden-eyed boy was starting to overthinking too much with that question, the King of Heroes sighed somewhat disappointed and decided to change the subject.
"Well, think about the answer to that question some other time. You have another much more pressing matter, Faker."
That pulled Shidou out of his spiral of thoughts, and he looked at "Mana" with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"You know this whole sealing the powers of the spirits thing is not going to last forever, right? You will reach a point in which your body will not be able to handle all the energy and will be consumed."
"I also thought that at the beginning. However, after using all that spiritual energy to project the Arturia's sword, I discovered something that invalidates that theory."
Gilgamesh's eyes shone with curiosity, and Shidou proceeded to explain his findings.
"After analyzing my body thoroughly several times, I came to a conclusion. This body is made to store spiritual power. Therefore, as long as the seal doesn't break, there is no risk that the energy will consume my body. And apparently, my magic circuits can channel that energy without risk of damage. Or at least, that's the only explanation I can find for the fact that my circuits haven't been irreparably damaged after handling so much energy."
"Interesting..." Gilgamesh stroked 'his' chin. "Do you have an explanation for that?"
"Well... I have a theory. My human body in my previous life certainly didn't have these capabilities. So..." Shidou put his hand on his chest. Just thinking about it made him want to throw. "I can only assume that this body was originally not mine, but belonged to the real biological brother of Mana."
"Mana" listened undisturbed as 'she' gestured to Shidou to continue.
"My theory is that, at first, my situation was the same as yours. My soul was forced into this body, turning Mana's brother into a Demi-servant. But, something went very wrong during the period of time that I have no memory of, and somehow, his soul left this body. Then, my soul took control of the body, and the genes of my soul modified it, changing it so it looks exactly like my previous body. Although there are still some gaps to fill, such as why Mana's brother had these powers, I think that's quite close to what happened."
"Hmm..." Gilgamesh folded 'his' arms and closed 'his' eyes for a few seconds. "That's a good theory indeed. I'd say you're on the right track, Faker. Now, how are you going to fill those gaps?"
"So far, I know two persons who might know about this." Shidou lifted a finger as he spoke. "One of them is Isaac Westcott. That guy called me Shinji Takamiya the first time we met, and he seemed to know about the affair. If I had to guess, I'd say that was the name of Mana's real brother."
After saying that, he lifted another finger. "The other person, or would be better called entity, would be "Phantom". The being who turned Kotori and Miku into spirits. That being seemed to know me quite well even though it was the first time I met it, and even knew of this power to seal the power of spirits. And, although finding that entity seems to be even more difficult than the original Kurumi, I think it's actually closer than it looks."
The interest of the King of Heroes increased even more. "And where do you think that thing is?"
"Well, to begin with, I always found it very odd that the Ratatoskr organization somehow managed to figure out Kotori's condition as a spirit. Her powers were sealed after the fire in the residential district, so she should have been a normal human for any radar. That means someone must have seen her in her astral dress during the fire."
By this point, Shidou was already doing the pose Rin always does when she was explaining things.
"A camera capturing us is out of the question. If there were any in the place, I doubt it would not have been incinerated. And, although my memories of the incident are still somewhat blurred, I'm sure there was no one else around. That makes the only people who knew that Kotori, me, and "Phantom". So, that leads me to the conclusion that it had to be that entity who sold the information to Ratatoskr. There's a possibility that it is even infiltrated into the organization. That would explain why that entity puts so much effort into hiding its identity."
After Shidou finished his long explanation, the room was filled with a tense silence.
Finally, the silence was interrupted by the sound of "Mana" standing up.
"Well, I'm nothing but an observer, so that's your problem, Faker. Let me know if you want to settle scores with that lowlife's company. If it's anything else, you'll have to ask my retainer for help."
With that said, the King of Heroes walked out of the room. But when 'he' was walking through the door, 'he' stopped.
"And one last thing, Nii-chan." But the change in the manner she was referring to him, Shidou knew that Mana had taken the driver's seat again. She turned to look at him with a tender smile, something rather unusual coming from the golden girl. "I don't care if that body belongeg to my original brother's and maybe you took his place. Nii-chan will always be Nii-chan to me."
That simple gesture lifted a heavy weight from Shidou's shoulders. He didn't really know how Mana would react to his theory, but seeing that smile made him feel a comforting warmth.
A smile, this time genuine, came across the lips of the boy with golden eyes. "Thank you, Mana."
Having been left alone in the room, Shidou closed the visual novel and turned off the computer. Although he had already completed the game 100 percent after an intensive week of reading practically nonstop, the girls were just starting the second route.
That's why he thought he still had time until the cat comes out of the bag.
The story had three main routes, one for each of the three heroines. It was not until one completed all three routes and got all the endings, both good and bad, that an epilogue of the first route was unlocked with Shirou and Saber reuniting in Avalon, and also, a fourth route.
That fourth route was the iteration of the Fifth Holy Grail War that he, the nameless hero King of Fakers, summoned as the servant Archer instead of EMIYA, the servant Archer summoned by Rin on the other three routes, and this Gilgamesh had lived.
One would think that the spirits would be more advanced in the story than Shidou. However, with Kotori and Reine insisting that he take these days to rest, he had plenty of free time.
Returning to the present, Shidou looked at the digital clock in his room, and realized why Mana had left. It was almost lunchtime.
Shidou descended at a light pace into the kitchen. He had lost track of time during his private conversation with Gilgamesh, and had to get ready to make food as soon as possible.
The spirits don't know how to cook, so he was the one who had to cook.
"..."
Shidou blinked several times, still trying to process the situation he had stumbled into as he went down to the kitchen.
By the time he had set foot in the living room, a group of hands had grabbed him and dragged him to the kitchen table where they used to eat.
But with the number of diners increasing, the table was getting smaller though. At least, since Miku already had a house of her own, she wasn't moved to the apartment for spirits, and therefore did not attend to the group meals as often.
Shidou had been forced to sit in front of a rather... "peculiar" dish, for lack of a better term.
It was a fairly large bowl, filled with some kind of pasty and bubbly liquid, of a color between blue and purple. And to add to the already disturbing view, several pieces of food protruded from the broth. Among them was a chicken thigh, a kinako bread, and an ice cream cone.
"What kind of aberration is this?" That was the first thing that passed through Shidou's head when he saw such a concoction.
He had never been fussy about food. In his previous life, he had not been in the best financial situation, so he was used to eating what he could.
In this second life, he had learned to cook so that he and Kotori would not have to survive on instant noodles and precooked food.
However, this was not about the broth looking horrible. It really looked like someone was trying to poison him.
His golden eyes left the "accident" in front of him, and they landed on the five girls in front of him.
"Come on, hurry up and taste it, Shidou!"
"You don't have to hold back! Eat, eat!"
Seeing Tohka, Yoshino, and the Yamai sisters smiling and encouraging him to have a taste of the... thing in front of him, only made the situation worse. Even Miku had taken a day off to be present.
"What exactly is this...?"
"Dummy. It's a stew." Kaguya answered his question full of confidence, as if that thing really was an normal stew.
"Explanation. Since Shidou is always cooking for us, we all agreed that today we would be the ones cooking for you."
"As we didn't know what to do... everyone tossed in the food they loved best..."
"We did it with all our love for you, Darling~"
That explained why there were all those things sticking out of that kind of broth, but it didn't explain the broth itself.
Seriously, what the hell had they done to make it look like that? The only thing that could be spared from that thing was that it didn't smell. If it smelled, the neighbors would likely be complaining by now.
"And whose idea was that?"
"Actually, although she did not help in the making of the dish, it was Mana who proposed this."
Shidou followed Tohka's gaze, and his eyes set on a certain golden girl watching him as she leaned her back against the door frame. Her eyes were covered by sunglasses, and her face had an even more wicked smile than Shidou's a few minutes earlier.
'She' moved 'her' lips without making a sound, but Shidou didn't needed to hear 'her' to get the message.
"You are a thousand years early to make a fool of me, Faker!"
At that moment, the golden-eyed boy regretted not having rubbed the King of Heroes in the face his painful deaths even more. This was war!
"I-isn't it wonderful, Shidou? They taking the trouble to make you something so delicious..."
Kotori at his side spoke uneasyly. It was clear that even she didn't believe what she was saying.
When Shidou turned to look at her, she was looking at him with a expression reserved for when you attend a funeral.
"Come on, you too, Kotori. Toss something you like!"
To Shidou's growing horror, Kotori did exactly what she was told. She took a lolipop out of her pocket and threw it in the broth.
The lolipop slowly sank into the ominous blue paste, giving the sensation that it was melting as if it were an acid.
Shidou looked at his younger sister with a betrayed expression. "Whose side are you on!?"
He knew that beneath her solemn expression was hiding a sadistic smile. She hadn't even taken off the lolipop wrapper! Why did her S side have to come out at a time like this!?
His golden eyes looked back at the spirits. They kept looking at him intensely, with their eyes shining and expectant expressions.
He looked away moments later. Although he seemed to be avoiding their looks, what he was actually doing was contemplating his options.
The kitchen window was less than five meters from him. With his legs reinforced, crossing that distance would take an instant, even less if he used a mana burst. By the time they realized, he'd be a few blocks away, running across town.
Of course, that would only postpone the problem. They would surely chase him around the city like the last time. And when he inevitably had to return to home, they would surely be VERY angry.
Now, it comes to what way did Shidou want to die? Poisoned, or facing the fury of several women?
Suddenly the "stew" became much more appetizing in his eyes. If dealing with women was already something he was bad at, dealing with angry women was simply a horror he didn't want for anyone, not even Gilgamesh.
Also, seeing the enthusiasm they had put into this, despite the disastrous outcome, and their smiles... he simply could not betray them.
They say love is the best ingredient in the kitchen, right? Maybe this thing miraculously tastes good...
With all that in mind, he made his final decision. He took his spoon, dipped it in the ominous broth, and brought it in front of his mouth. He was going to grab the tiger by the balls!
Shidou swallowed saliva before putting that thing in his mouth... or at least tried. His mouth and throat had dried out.
Finally, the spoon entered his mouth, and at that moment, the golden-eyed boy's body froze.
The room remained in a tense silence, with all the spectators at the edge of the seat, metaphorically speaking.
After what seemed like several minutes without anyone moving a muscle, Tohka decided to break the silence.
"Well? How's our stew, Shidou-?"
Tohka's words triggered a reaction in Shidou's frozen body. He, without saying a word, began to take spoon after spoon of the "stew" to his mouth at a frantic pace. Anyone who looked at him would think he hadn't eaten in weeks.
In a matter of seconds, the "stew", which had surely been prepared to satisfy the hunger of several people, was completely devoured. Only the chicken thigh bone and lolipop stick were left in the bowl, and not a drop of that ominous broth could be seen anywhere.
For a moment, the thought that Tohka and Shidou had somehow switched bodies passed through everyone's mind.
Shidou left his spoon on the table again, and remained silent with his gaze lost. He seemed to be in some kind of trance.
"Shidou-san...?
Yoshino's worried voice seemed to make the boy react. He looked at them and showed them a smile.
"Mmm, it was really delicious guys..."
Hearing his words, the expressions of all were illuminated with joy. The Yamai sisters hugged between themselves, Miku hugged Yoshino, pressing her face against her generous bust, and Tohka began to jump with joy.
"Yay! We did it!"
However, amid all that cheerful atmosphere, Kotori continued to look at Shidou with concern.
That act might have fooled the spirits, but she had lived with Shidou for many years. It didn't take her long to realize something was off.
Shidou's smile was very tense, with the edges of his lips shaking. His right eyebrow was also trembling, and drops of sweat began to slip down his forehead.
"Onii-chan... are you really okay?"
Shidou put his hand on his sister's shoulder and instructed her to put her ear near him. Once her ear was inches from his lips, he whispered to her with a thread of voice.
"Kotori... when the ambulance comes... tell them I did it for the greater good- ugh!"
As soon as he finnished his line, Shidou gagged, and his hand quickly flew to his mouth to prevent the contents of his stomach from shooting out.
The spirits noticed this, but before anyone could ask anything, Shidou abruptly rose from the chair and ran out of the room.
Then they heard a door slammed shut, likely the bathroom's, and the unpleasant sounds caused by Shidou when he poured the "stew" into the toilet bowl.
""Shidou!"" Everyone, including Mana, shouted his name full of concern and quickly went to the bathroom.
That day, Shidou, no, King of Fakers died fulfilling his duty as an agent of the Counter-Force, and took with him a terrible threat against humanity.
The scene in Shidou's room was no different than what you would find in a clinic for palliative cares.
All the spirits plus Mana were around the bed, with expressions full of worry and restlessness on their faces. On that bed lay an unconscious Shidou, his face completely pale, and Reine sat beside him doing a quick check-up.
Although it wasn't the first time they had seen Shidou in such a state, just a week before they had seen him faint full of wounds, they could not stop their heart from hurting when they saw the boy in that state. Even more so since this was their fault.
After several painfully long minutes, Reine finally removed the device she was using to measure Shidou's blood pressure, ending the check-up.
The girls noticed this, and immediately gathered around the analysis officer.
"How's Shidou, Reine!? He's not going to die, right!? Right!?" Tohka grabbed Reine's shoulders and started shaking her. Being the one who had seen Shidou about to die many times, she was the most hysterical.
"Tohka, calm down. If you keep shaking her, she won't be able to talk." Kotori tried to calm her down, although she wasn't much better.
Once Tohka released Reine, she began her explanation. "No, Shin is not going to die. This is simply an extreme case of indigestion."
"What does that mean?"
"Because he ate that... thing so quickly, his stomach couldn't handle it. I'm not sure why he fainted, most likely because of the taste of that... thing you gave him, but I don't think it would take him more than a few hours to wake up. It will be a few days before he can eat anything other than a soft diet without risk of vomiting, but other than that and some dizziness there should be no problem... Although I must ask... what was that blue thing supposed to be?"
Despite the relief of hearing the good news, all the spirits blushed with shame and looked away.
Kotori then looked at Mana, who was with her back resting on the wall on the other side of the room.
"Hey Mana, they said the idea behind all this was yours, didn't they?"
Mana hummed at that. "Though I already knew that leaving these girls alone in the kitchen was an accident waiting to happen, my original intention was to play a simple prank on Nii-chan."
The golden girl was struggling to keep her expression neutral. Originally it was the work of Gilgamesh, but not even he could predict this. Though that didn't stop him from laughing his ass off.
"I thought they were just going to feed him something that tasted bad, and he was going to eat it so they wouldn't be sad. What I never thought was they literally poisoning him."
"But... Mana-san... you told us to put what we loved best..."
Mana blinked as she heard the comment, and immediately caressed her face with her hand.
"I said, 'cook what you love best'. Seriously, did you take my words literally and just toss in the blender whatever you liked? You know what, don't answer that question. It's a miracle you didn't blow anything up."
"B-but we did it with all our love..."
Mana mercilessly took down Miku's weak response. "No matter how much love you put into it, poison will remain being poison."
It was then that Kotori realized an important fact. "By the way, what are you doing here, Mana? Shouldn't you be following up on your treatment at Fraxinus?"
"Hmph. Can't I visit Nii-chan after being held in that ship of yours for a whole month?"
The redhead retreated a bit to that response. Although it was for the sake of healing the huge damage done to her body due to DEM experiments, leaving her locked up for long periods of time was no good either.
If she got angry, Kotori was inclined to think that the golden girl would be far more dangerous than a spirit.
Faced with the silence of Fraxinus' commander, Mana stroked her chin, and a cheeky smile formed on her lips.
"Oh, I see~ you wanted to monopolize Nii-chan for you alone, didn't you? It's good that you finally took the offensive, Kotori-san. Though, I see that, even with your combined efforts, you haven't yet made much progress in getting through Nii-chan's block head..."
Upon hearing that, Kotori's cheeks turned red like a tomato. "W-what are you talking about? O-of course I don't have any intention like that! I just cared about you! You have a bounty on your head, so you can't go around so casually!"
"Heh..." In response, the smile on the golden girl's face became bloodthirsty. "I invite them to come at me if they have what it takes."
Those words sent a chill to all the other people present, except for Reine. While Miku had only been lectured by the golden girl, the other five had witnessed her power, three of them firsthand.
Even the memories that Kaguya, Yuzuru and Yoshino kept of the time they were under the influence of Miku's "voice" were blurred, they could still remember how Mana could easily fight all three at once, restraining herself from doing them too much harm, and exterminating any clone of Kurumi that entered her range of vision.
Shidou didn't exaggerate when he told them that she was not a person you want to get on her bad side.
It was Reine's sleepy voice that disrupted the room's tense atmosphere.
"Well... if no one else has a problem, it's time for me to go back to Fraxinus..." Her blue eyes met the red eyes of the golden girl. "Will you come with me, Mana?"
Mana stared at the Analysis Officer for a few seconds, her expression a neutral mask, until she answered with a shrug.
"With Nii-chan in this state, I guess I don't have much left to do here."
Putting her hands in her pockets, Mana left the room, not without waving her hand to say goodbye to the "harem" of her Nii-chan. Reine went to follow her, but Tohka's voice stopped her just before crossing the gate.
"Wait! Reine-san, is there nothing we can do to help Shidou?"
The other spirits nodded with determination, supporting Tohka. However, Reine's response caused them to deflate.
"A good rest it should be enough... and seeing as how it turned out your attempt to cook something... the only one besides Shidou himself who can prepare easy-to-digest food is Kotori... If you want some advice... I'd tell you to ask Shidou to teach you how to cook when he's better..."
Leaving the girls with disappointed looks, the Analysis Officer left the room.
Then the spirits looked at each other with visible restlessness. At the unspoken question, Kotori could not help but sigh.
Letting the spirits get stressed out wasn't something they could afford, but in these circumstances, there really wasn't much they could do.
Kotori could sympathize with them. Seeing a person you love in that state is painful. Even worse if it was their fault that Shidou ended up like this.
"Ahem..." Fraxinus' commander coughed to get everyone's attention. "For the time being, you are free to do as you please, as long as you don't disturb Shidou's rest. You can go back to your apartment, play video games, watch TV... I will let you know immediately when Shidou wakes up."
Her speech did little to calm the restless girls. "But, to play while Darling is like this..."
However, Kotori already had an argument prepared in advance for that answer. "No matter how much you stay here to observe him, Shidou won't get better sooner. Besides, I doubt he'd want you to stay here mourning him instead of going to do something fun."
That made them start thinking better about staying here.
Appealing to the psychological distortion of her Onii-chan felt pretty bad, but it was better than letting the powers of the spirits get out of control without him to calm them.
In a situation like this, Shidou's attempts to make the girls less dependent on him began to make more sense.
Unexpectedly, Kotori got the push she needed to convince them by the youngest of the spirits, at least in appearance.
"Right...! Miku-san... we haven't shown you the visual novel yet..."
The idol took a few seconds to understand what Yoshino meant, and when she did, her eyes shone.
"Oh! You mean that visual novel you told me about that Darling and Mana-chan participated in?"
"Yeah! Now that we're all together, it's a good time to do another reading session, don't ya think?"
"Well, while Shidou returns from the Land of Shadows, we can continue our journey through the Holy Grail War..."
"Agreed. Kotori is right. Shidou would rather we go have fun than stay here worrying."
Although Tohka was the most reluctant to move away from Shidou, in the end the five went to the spirit apartment, leaving Kotori alone with Shidou.
Letting out the air she was holding without realizing it, Kotori relaxed and sat on the side of Shidou's bed. Her eyes then turned to the face of her sleeping brother.
What she saw was unusual. It's not like she went every night to see her brother's face in his sleep, but the few times she'd seen him, she always noticed he was like... restless?
Anyone would say he wasn't dreaming of something nice, but she didn't know if it would be right to say he was having nightmares either.
Therefore, seeing his current face totally peaceful while resting was something new for her. Her hand gently caressed his cheek, and her fingers passed through the auburn and white locks that fell over his forehead, as a gentle smile formed on her lips.
Seeing him like this, it seemed like he was resting properly for the first time. That reminded her of the time when she was unaware of her brother being a magus, or didn't remember it.
Those times when she only cared about his brother not overworking himself to help others, and trying to get her feelings through to him. Although she knew that with her position as his little sister, even though they weren't related by blood, it was almost impossible, she hoped that perhaps, one day Shidou would see her as a woman and not as his sister..
Although, before that, she had to penetrate that huge wall of density that Shidou had around him.
Thinking about it reminded her of one of Mana's comments a few minutes ago, and her smile was replaced by a frown.
Although it was true that Shidou was beginning to open up more and show more emotions lately, he still avoided the feelings of the spirits.
It was true that they were rather clumsy expressing their affection for him, and Tohka was probably just as dense as he was. But, Izayoi Miku, the last spirit that Shidou had sealed until now, was quite the opposite.
She called him Darling, and every second she spent with him, she showered him with affection. He continuing to doubt that they were in love with him with such obvious evidence 100% confirmed Kotori's suspicions.
Her brother's density was only a by-product of his low self-esteem.
And there was also that weird promise that Tohka made him to make about kissing her every time he kissed another spirit. Once she recovered from her wounds after the DEM incident, she soon claimed another kiss when she realized that Miku's powers had been sealed.
Unconsciously, Kotori's eyes settled on Shidou's lips. Now that she remembered, it had been months since Shidou kissed her to re-seal her powers.
Her fingers landed on her lips as she remembered the sensation. Although the only reason her dense Onii-chan kissed her was to save her, she still remembered the comforting warmth she felt at the time.
She was proud that her Onii-chan was the one who received her first kiss, and was almost certain that she had gotten his first kiss that day five years ago.
A small moral victory that made her hopes that her wish would come true did not fade, even though her rivals on this battlefield were really tough.
By this point, Kotori's cheeks had turned crimson red again, and by the time she emerged from her spiral of thought, her face was too close to Shidou's.
Her thoughts then became a mess. One part of her wanted to retreat and let out a shriek as she touched her cheeks, while the other encouraged her to go ahead and press her lips against Shidou's. And that last part of her consciousness was the strongest of the two.
Actually, it wouldn't hurt if she gave him a kiss, would it?
The spirits were always monopolizing Shidou for themselves, and with her work as commander of Fraxinus, the time that Kotori could be with her Onii-chan and do family things was almost nonexistent.
Now that she could be alone with Shidou, even under these circumstances, she could afford to be selfish for once, couldn't she?
Kotori closed her eyes and lowered her head to seal her lips with Shidou's...
However, her body froze halfway through hearing a creak made by the door of the room moving slightly.
The commander of Fraxinus immediately raised her head to face the door, and found a view that gave her goose bumps.
A pair of silver eyes watched her intently, while a cheeky smile adorned the lips of a certain idol.
"Miku... why are you still here?" Kotori decided to ask, although she sensed that what she was about to hear was not going to be pleasant.
"Oh, don't worry about me, Kotori-san. Pretend I'm not here and continue what you were doing."
A drop of sweat slid down Kotori's forehead. "You were supposed to go to play with the other spirits, weren't you?"
"Ara?" Upon hearing that answer, Miku took a hand to her mouth and let out a surprised voice. However, her expression only became more disturbing for Kotori. "Oh my, looks like Mana-chan was right and you want to monopolize Darling for yourself. I see that you are also a bad girl~"
"Y-you're wrong! T-this is not what you are thinking! I was... err... taking the temperature to Shidou! Yeah, that's it!"
Kotori said the first excuse that crossed her mind, but her blush and stammering didn't help.
"You don't have to hide it from me, Kotori-san. In fact, I support you. I wouldn't mind Darling having an harem. Besides, if I kissed Darling after Kotori-san kissed him, that would also be an indirect kiss with you."
At the end of her line, Miku licked her lips. Feeling that she was being devoured with the gaze, Kotori leapt to the side instinctively to put as much distance as possible between her and the perverted idol.
"Hey Miku, what are you doing that you're not coming?"
It was then that Tohka entered the room, and found the scene between Kotori and Miku.
"Mu?" She bowed her head in confusion. "What's going on here?"
Before Kotori could explain, Miku beat her to it. "Oh, Kotori-san here had a great idea to wake up Shidou. As in fairy tales, perhaps a kiss can awaken him from his deep sleep. Why don't you give it try, Tohka-san?"
"Huh!? A ki-kiss!?"
More shouts of surprise were heard than the one that should have been heard. That was because behind Tohka had entered Yoshino and the Yamai sisters.
Kotori looked at Miku in shock, and didn't need to have telepathic abilities to guess what the idol was thinking.
She wanted everyone to kiss Shidou so that when she was going to kiss him, that would imply an indirect kiss with everyone!
"O-ok! I'll go first!"
Tohka, despite her blush, showed more enthusiasm than usual. She quickly approached Shidou's unconscious figure with the intention of pressing her lips against his.
But, before she could, two pairs of hands pulled Shidou's legs, taking him to the other side of the bed and causing Tohka to kiss the pillow instead.
"Kuku, you are too naive, my familiar!" Kaguya confident on hrt victory spoke as she brought Shidou's face closer to hers.
"It is time to perform a magical energy transfusion so that Shidou will be back with all his power..."
But the closer their lips came, Kaguya began to blush and hesitate. Taking advantage of this opening, her identical-faced sister snatched Shidou from her hands.
"Amusement. Kaguya is too shy. Let your big sister give you a demonstration."
Yuzuru proceeded to kiss Shidou without hesitation, but something stood between her lips and those of her beloved.
"Surprise. Huh?"
Her lips had settled on the head of a rabbit puppet who was making bizarre movements.
"Yaw, I didn't know Yuzuru-chan had such feelings for Yoshinon. But, that aside, this is your chance, Yoshino!"
The aquamarine blue-haired girl wasted no time and grabbed Shidou with her free hand to bring him closer to her. Although her cheeks looked redder than Kotori's hair, the look in her eyes was full of determination.
But, Tohka wasn't going to make it easy for her, and she started pulling Shidou's arm. That evolved into a contest to see who could pull Shidou out of the other's hands. None of the spirits seemed willing to give in.
"Ugh..." The anguished voice of the poor golden-eyed teenager was what finally managed to stop the spirits.
"Oh, Shidou! At last you have awakened-"
The enthusiasm of the girls to see him return to his senses vanished before the sight of his pale and almost sickly face.
"I don't feel so good..."
That caused Kotori to come out of her stupor, and the temperature in the room began to rise several degrees.
"What have I told you about not bothering Onii-chan! Go play in your apartment at once!"
The five girls ran out of the room, too scared of Kotori to care about Shidou.
And that's it for now. What do you think? A harem protagonist's life is really hard.
The "stew" part is directly inspired by the first chapter of the third season of the Date a Live anime. Although, those who saw that chapter will know that in this story things ended in a totally opposite way.
Seriously, they expect me to believe that gunk tasted good? There's no way that's anything but poison with that ominous color and smoke.
Anyway, moving on to other themes, the scene of King of Fakers trolling Gilgamesh with the visual novel was planned for quite some time. And that scene led to a pretty important conversation.
Shidou's explanation of how he ended up like this is incomplete because, well, he's not omniscient. But those who have read the original story should be able to fill in the gaps easily. As for the concept of "genes of the soul", the explanation of what that is, is given by Rin in the True Ending of the Heaven's Feel route. In particular it is the reason why when Shirou's soul received the miracle of the Third Magic and was able to control an artificial body, this body looked exactly like his original body.
One of the few things that always seemed odd to me from the original story is that the clues to solving the mystery of "Phantom's" identity and Shidou's past were always there, but no one put the pieces together. It wasn't until the thing hit them in the face, almost literally, that the mystery wasn't solved.
But well, I recently finished reading the last volume of Date a Live's light novel. I shed some tears, but that may also be because I was listening to the OST called "New dawn 2" while reading. That soundtrack plays at the end of each route of the visual novel "Fate/Stay Night", so it hits me in the feelings every time I hear it.
What I'm getting at here is that I at long last have the overall script for the story in mind, although it's susceptible to change, and that includes what I'm going to do with Mayura. Yes, I finally decided to include the events of "Date a Live: Mayuri judgement," and as it can't be otherwise, King of Fakers will save Mayuri.
The reason, I read a certain special volume called "Mayuri around" which was about an hypothetical "what if Mayuri didn't disappeared", and that also hit me in the feelings.
However, she will have a rather important role in the story later on. She will not be just an addition to Shidou's "what harem?".
The next chapter will be the second interlude before the film. Since this chapter focused on the "Fate side", the next chapter will be more about the girls' point of view, and their impressions of the dream cycle and the visual novel.
Finally, as always, I would like to hear your opinions, and I hope I have entertained you. My next update will be an interlude of my other story as the poll was close.
With this I say goodbye for now. Until we meet again!