Disclaimer: Shokugeki no Sōma is a manga written by Tsukuda Yuuto and illustrated by Shun Saeki. The Fate series is owned by Type-Moon. I do not own any of the characters mentioned here.
The Sumiredori Shopping District, a two-hour walk is necessary to reach this place from the grounds of Tōtsuki and half an hour by car. Located near the train station, this district is a busy place for a weary businessman to unwind a little or for a housewife that is looking for great deals. All in all, this is an ordinary place overall except that someone from the Moonlit World is living here.
This is the reason why Shirou was here, upon exiting the cab, he scanned the area for anything inconspicuous around. A few food stalls and souvenir shops are open and while the people going in and out are still few, nothing seems to be out of context. The redhead reach for his pockets took a letter out and read it once more to make sure the name written is not something that he missed.
"Izumo Inn. The owner is said to be a known member of the Sea of Estray before going into self-imposed exiled due to unknown circumstances." Shirou repeated as he made his way to find the said inn. Lord El-Melloi II told him that the owner is known for her contributions to the study of Magic Circuits and Cores, making her a valuable asset. The woman happened to be indebted to Waver and to call it quits to both parties, she will help him in his Magic Circuits.
After a few walks, he found himself face to face with possibly the more sophisticated inn around the area. The two-story building was decorated in a simple Japanese style of wooden walls. He noticed the slightly ajar gates and was impressed with how the place was clean and made it feel closer to nature despite its position in the urban area.
"Um, hello? Is there anyone home?" he lowly called out and waited for someone to respond. A figure stepped out in the veranda and for a moment, Shirou held his breath out of admiration. The woman seems to be in her middle years and yet she looks very young, her waist-length purple hair is done in a hime style. She also wears the traditional attire of a miko consisting of a purple hakama, a white haori with a sash-like belt, wooden sandals, and a white ribbon to partially hold her hair in place.
If he was to describe her... she is a Yamato Nadeshiko.
"How may I help you?"
"A-Are you... Asama Miya?" Shirou stuttered a bit and the woman giggled at him.
"Indeed I am, are you the one whom Lord El-Melloi sent?" she asked.
Shirou nodded at her words and she motioned the young man inside. With a snap of her fingers, a bounded field encircled the entire inn, turning it away from any prying eyes from the outdoors. He was impressed by the decorations that gave off a vibrant and authentic Japanese feeling into it, something that he hasn't felt after arriving in the country.
The woman offered him to sit and he politely complied with his eyes darting everywhere.
"You seem to be a bit young to have your Magic Circuits damaged," Miya came out of the kitchen with a pot of tea and a cup, setting it down to the table and pouring some of it.
"I didn't expect this predicament to happen to me. I guess I am lucky to be alive." Shirou grabs the cup and drinks it quietly and to his surprise, it was not the usual green tea that is prominently used amongst the Japanese. "Is this black tea?"
"You noticed it too. I would have used green tea leaves but our resident chef happened to have a bunch of this. It tastes good, right?"
"Oh yes, this sort of tea is popular in certain parts of Europe and America," he replied, consuming the tea at a moderate pace.
"The thing is... that tea is not some ordinary one." Shirou coughed a bit and noticed that his eyesight began to slur. "I am sorry but you need to thoroughly relax."
Shirou tried to fight off the effects of the tea, however, his concentration is slipping away. He landed with a soft thud on the floor. The caretaker of the Izumo Inn carefully drag her sleeping customer away to someplace... where they can be both alone.
'Sir Shirou!'
'Just go! I'll follow you!'
'It's not safe here anymore!'
'You're all my responsibility and no one in my team will be left behind! Not on my watch!'
Shirou grunted a bit as he opened his eyes once more. Around him is an array of tissue papers filled with blood, some bandages, and a few needles. His attempts to stand on his own feet had failed as he stumbled a bit. That's when the culprit entered the room with a set of clean towels.
"What did you do to me?" the redhead asked, glaring at Miya, nonetheless, the woman kept a composed face at him.
"My sincerest apologies, Emiya Shirou." she sounded apologetic. "You see, the way I handle your entire circuitry is a formalcraft that I and my late husband developed. Seeing that you came under the name of the Association, I initially refused to have myself involve in their workings."
"But you still let me in your home. Why is that?"
"It's because of reasons that I wanted to keep for myself and Lord El-Melloi." Miya finished, and it was obvious that she doesn't want to continue it anymore.
"Sorry for my behavior," Shirou apologized. "I guess, I kind of disturbed your peace here."
"Oh no, this was quite a good experience for me. It surely has been awhile since I've done this. I was a bit worried that I'll be rusty during the procedure, luckily, you came out alive." Miya chuckled and Shirou sweated a bit. This woman would have gotten him killed after all.
"Um... can you tell me, what exactly is going on with my Magic Circuits?" Shirou wanted to assess how much damage he has taken.
"To be exact, your Circuits was still alright, it's just that something is blocking the flow of your od. Think of it like an electric wire that was chipped off, the electricity, whenever you attempt to utilize it, the od does not flow naturally but instead..."
"The od escapes the circuitry outline..."
"Which in turn, inflicts damage to your body. Fortunately, I manage to remove the effects of the Mystic Code."
"Does that mean, I can use magecraft now?" he sounded hopeful. However, the woman's expression says otherwise.
"Right now, you can only do mundane spells like Reinforcement but anything beyond that is still out of the question." Miya declared.
"Wait, I thought you already fixed me?" Shirou was a bit confused. The effects of the Mystic Code were removed and he could feel its aftereffects are now gone. What is stopping him from doing what he is best at?
"I did remove the Mystic Code but the Origin where it's made from is the one causing the problem."
"This is just great," Shirou grunted a bit. "That guy really wants me out, eh?" he wobbled a bit but he eventually gained his footing.
"If you want to go back to normal," he was helped by the inn owner on his feet. "There are two choices, its either you destroy whoever put this curse to you or a weekly therapy."
If he does yet again and hunt down the Dead Apostle that has cost him this injury, that would also mean unnecessary attention from the Mages' Association. He has been under constant watch ever since he became Rin's disciple and the name Emiya has been associated by his late father. Which is really funny to him since as far as knew of, he hasn't done anything to warrant their attention.
"How long and how effective this therapy might be?"
"It depends. If you want fast recovery, refrain from using magecraft and you'll be up in a few months." Miya replied to him. "I have no exact deadline for you but know this, if you can't restrain yourself or be forced to do magecraft. A year is all I can give to you."
"A year!?" Shirou said in disbelief.
"You can always take the other one if you want to. I'm merely an inn owner, after all."
The two returned to the entrance with Shirou still thinking of his condition when his stomach started to rumble.
"Oh my, didn't you have your fill before coming in here?" he merely nodded at her. He was in a hurry for he thought that the woman is a hardheaded individual. However, it proved the other way around since Miya seemed to be a reserved one to boot.
"How does a meal at a special of the day restaurant sound to you?" she offered and Shirou accepted it.
"I'm kinda hungry, so yeah, how about your inn though?"
"Do not fret about that. Besides, anyone who dares to sack my inn will face my wrath, ufufufu..." a cold sweat ran over the back of his neck upon hearing her words. He cannot point it out specifically but it's as if she will unleash something bad.
She initially locked the doors and lead the way ahead of him. The once solemn streets are starting to fill with more people. Shirou kept a small distance between him and Miya to stop garnering attention from the masses. Without a doubt, Miya Asama is a beautiful woman to behold.
"Here we are," the inn owner stopped at what seemed to be a restaurant that's situated just a few blocks away. He looked up at the sign of it and muttered its name.
'Restaurant Yukihira?'
"I wonder if Yukihira-kun is already awake." she entered the sidewalk, leading to the back. "Do not worry, the sous chef is already used to people going in the back."
If she put it in that way, maybe the owner knew her for quite a few years. They both waited at the owner and he deliberately heard the shuffle of someone going through the backdoors. The owner came out with a smile on his face and to Shirou's utter surprise, he found himself a bit stupefied by the situation.
"Oh, morning, Miya-san! I was about to open the restaurant..." the young man greeted but he stopped for a moment when he saw Shirou. "Erm, hello... well... this is weird."
"I can also say the same thing," the redhead replied, offering a hand of greeting. "The name is Emiya Shirou, please to be an acquaintance."
"Likewise, Yukihira Sōma, sous-chef of the restaurant, nice to meet you."
Both of their hands met and the feeling of finding that someone who shares the same appearance sink on both of them. The hair, except hairstyle, has the same tint and even the eye colour. However, Shirou's right eye is now gray steel in color while the left still retains its original color.
"You two are look alike. It's as if you're twins from afar." Miya commented after seeing the two side by side. "Don't you think, Emiya-kun?"
"Well... they say that there is a million of a chance that you would find someone who shares the same features as you,"
"I know right? I'm not that superstitious but I hope your companion is not some kind of bad omen!" Sōma offered the two to enter the restaurant. "So, is there anything I can do for you?"
Shirou took notice of the restaurant, with its wooden walls, rows of tables and chairs, the spotless counter and the knives being kept in the kitchen. He was far impressed in the place itself too, making him wonder if the sous-chef is doing all the workaround.
"That's that, Sōma-kun. Would you mind treating him to one of your specials?" Miya glanced at the redhead who sat at the counter. "Don't worry, he will pay for his meal afterwards."
"It's fine with me but who is he? Aside from his name, he seems to be a person of utmost importance to you." Sōma teased, earning him a scary smile from the owner of the Izumo Inn. "Yep, definitely should serve him, hehehe,"
The inn owner bid goodbye to Shirou, leaving him together with the sous-chef who open the doors of the restaurant. The sunlight penetrated everything and illuminated the entirety of the floor.
"So, would you mind if you become my guinea... I mean, my taste tester for my new dish?" Sōma offered with a grin on his face. Shirou didn't turn down his offer since it has been long since he ate at a special of the day restaurant.
Restaurants such as this were a rarity in European countries. The closest to that of this style is a bistro in Italy which serves food for the masses. He is accustomed to French cuisine since he arrived in Europe for its importance for 'bringing people together to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking' and the power to create 'togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature'.
"What are you making, by the way, Yukihira-san?" Shirou inquired.
"Just some rice sprinkled with dried seasoning with a twist of my own," Sōma replied with a smug on his face. The redhead nodded, opting to watch the chef work behind the lines.
He followed the young man whose fluid speed and precision would surely amaze anyone. The way he flips the pan, slicing and dicing some chicken wings is a wonderful performance to behold. After what seems to be a lifetime, Shirou's nose was assaulted by the smell of eggs and chicken combined.
"Here it is! The Yukihira special No. 76, my very own Transforming Furikake Gohan!" Sōma proudly declared.
He can already tell from a mere glance that it was delicious with the scrumptious smell mixed with it. His Structural Analysis allowed him to grasp the entirety of the dish.
"You made some aspic out of chicken wings and boiled them in a mix of white wine, vinegar, and soy sauce. I must say, I'm really impressed by this," he commented further in which Sōma grinned in response.
"You nailed the ingredients just by looking at it!? That's pretty dope!"
"Eh? Oh, um... let's just say that I have made stuff like this in the past. Anyways, thanks for the food!" Shirou dug in and just as he predicted earlier, it was too good that he finished it whole. "This is delicious! With this alone, you can be a student in Tōtsuki! Your innovation is something that everyone needs to see."
"I dunno... I'm pretty happy in this restaurant of ours besides I already took an exam there."
"What happened? Did you pass?" he inquired.
"Nah, man! The examiner said that my furikake was disgusting and it took me by surprise! Can you believe it? I guess she's just used to gourmet and all that fancy foodstuff." Sōma said, remembering the words of Erina Nakiri.
Whether the girl has justified reasons of saying his food tasted terrible, he wanted for her to taste his 'creations' which are actually disgusting on their own. But in all truth, it rekindles some will inside of him... he wanted to go back and prove to her that his food is delicious.
"Now, I wonder if that is true?" a gruff old voice came from the doorway garbed in his green hakama.
"Fancy seeing you here, Senzaemon-dono." Shirou greeted and bowed down in respect.
"Yes, I am here in concern for Yukihira Sōma's admission. My granddaughter, Erina, told you that your food is terrible, correct?" Sōma simply nodded at him. "I will reevaluate her assessment and see for myself."
"One Yukihira No. 8 Special, coming right up!" the young cook of the restaurant worked his way to the kitchen once more. If he was able to impress the headmaster, he might get another shot of making it to the prestigious academy and have the God's Tongue admit that his food is good. The other one is to show that he will surpass his old man by graduating there.
"So, what are your opinions of him, Emiya?" Senzaemon asked the redhead beside him.
"I think that he would be a fine addition to the students. He is a bit unorthodox and his style of cooking is rare to see in such a prestigious setting." Shirou shared his thoughts about Sōma.
The old man opted to wait for the meal to come. Not that Shirou's opinion didn't matter like the saying goes, "to see is to believe" only in this case, taste Sōma's food. He observed how fast the chef moved around the kitchen as if he already memorized his way around. In all truth, Sōma Yukihira was all he needed to break the cage where Erina's heart was. However, the young chef alone won't be enough to "free" her granddaughter.
The likes of Shirou who knew what life is outside the world of cooking can teach her a thing or two about it. Alice, her cousin, whom at least is outgoing can teach her how girls would act their age. Of course, he didn't mind if Erina were to have a little crush on someone preferably Sōma Yukihira.
"Here it is, gramps! Taste and see for yourself that I am worthy to enter that academy!" Sōma emitted an aura of confidence.
He observed it with his keen eyes, took the chopsticks, and break it apart, grabbing a small serving of it. Senzaemon chewed it slowly with his eyes closed before he settled his utensils down.
"Gramps?"
"Headmaster?"
Both of them called to Senzaemon, noticing that he's silent for quite some time.
"Hahaha!" he gave a jovial laugh, taking out a piece of paper before signing it with his signature. "Your furikake is indeed delicious and it surpassed my expectations! Here it is, you're now an official student of Tōtsuki!" Senzaemon gave the admission letter to Sōma, excitement flowed all over him.
"Congratulations, Yukihira-san," Shirou clapped his hands-on recognition.
"Ehehehe... thanks man, gramps!" Sōma could not believe it! He thought that he was done for when Erina told him his cooking was bad. He didn't accept it fully, knowing that the girl reacted in a way similar to how his customers do when they taste his food. Now that he is an official student in the academy, he's going to surpass everyone in there.
"The classes will start next week. You are ought to give a little speech to your fellow first years. I expect great things in you, Yukihira Sōma." Senzaemon turned to the redhead next. "Come with me in the car, we need to talk."
"I'll see you in Tōtsuki, Yukihira-san. You'll surely be a great chef in the future." he flashed a smile as he left the restaurant and the young sous chef alone. Sōma, on the other hand, could not help but also grin in response. Somehow, talking to the newcomer made him at ease. For the past few days, the thought of not beating his father plagued his mind ever since Erina passed her judgment. His arrival and honest opinion of his dish reinvigorated his fighting spirit once more.
The driver opened the backdoor of the limousine as Senzaemon and Shirou entered the vehicle. He was already accustomed to being in these kinds of vehicles because of Luviagelita Edelfelt, still, it was a tad uncomfortable. He sat at the opposite side of the Director who poured two glasses of wine for both of them.
"This is an 1811 Napoleon Grande Fine Champagne Cognac, more than 200 years old, this single bottle is as rare as any antique." he handed the glass to the young man who was more than eager to taste it. "You're lucky since you're the first person outside of my family to savor it."
"It's an honor, Director." the two shared a toast as they slowly consumed the wine.
He can still taste the blend of Grande and Petite Champagne cognac in his throat. He didn't drink it all in one gulp, opting to set it aside for the rest of the ride. Senzaemon too did the same gesture, twirling the drink in his hands. He has a lot of questions regarding the workings of the Mage's Association. He flipped a switch at his side and it covered the driver's window.
"So, how are things now in the Mage's Association, Emiya Shirou?"
Shirou paused for a second as the last drop of the tasty wine gone now down in his throat. "Same old brand new, I guess. Old men who cannot cope up with modern times still dominated the Clock Tower. Fortunately, with the advent of Modern Magecraft Theories, it will change albeit in a snail's pace."
"I see, it was different back in the days when I was still studying magecraft. I wonder if any of my granddaughters will take interest in learning..." he didn't miss the sour look of Shirou as he chuckled. "Now, I am aware of the dangers of learning it. For the sake of Erina and Alice, you and I along with my son, will keep this a secret to everyone, understand?"
"That's what I've been doing for these last few years." he remarked as the car came to a complete halt, the doors of Tōtsuki Academy beckoned upon him. Somewhat, the trip has been fast enough for him not to notice it. The students around whispered among themselves, it's not like you can see a student, who is not a member of the Elite Ten, exiting the same vehicle as the Headmaster.
"I suggest that you find a Research Society that suits your interests. They will be a great boon for you in the future."
"I'll keep it in mind, have a good day, Senzaemon-dono." he took a bow down as the car sped away. Shirou sighed and made his way to see the Research Societies that the old man told him about. He notices the number of students handing out fliers for what seems to be of importance.
"Wahhh! Watch out!" Shirou crashed into someone as he held his head in pain before he stood up and lend a hand to the stranger to pick up the dropped items. His eyes caught wind of the multitude of knives lying around from an ordinary chef's knife to a vegetable cleaver. But what gained his attention is the history of one particular tool in them.
"DON'T TOUCH THEM!" a threatening voice of a girl calls him out as he is about to pick them up. He did the courtesy of not touching the knives.
"Alright, I won't." Shirou raised his hands in resignation as the girl scrambled away from the scene. He breathed an audible sigh and picked up the one knife that the girl forgot to take. He caressed the tip and its sharpened edges still held fangs. "Better return it to her..."
"That won't be possible." a young man with rainy black hair and eyes along with glasses told him. He's also wearing Tōtsuki's uniform, making him a student here. "You probably won't even be alive for the opening ceremony. Sucks to be you."
"Is she that bad? You're portraying her as if she's a killer or something," he remarked as the student extended his arms to him.
"My name is Zenji Marui and yes, Minami Sagane has some… tendencies to be like that." the redhead responds by doing the same courtesy to him.
"Emiya Shirou, a pleasure to meet you, Zenji-san. I think I'll see it for myself if she's actually what you say." Marui held him on his shoulders and made a serious expression.
"Trust me on this one, Emiya-san! Sagane-senpai is someone you wouldn't want to encounter here in Tōtsuki! I'm saying this for your good as a fellow student!" he adjusted his glasses, reminiscing the violent outbursts of the second-year student. "She maybe a beautiful girl but the numerous guys who tried to court her all ended up in hospital beds. She also is one of the best when it comes to knives, earning her the nickname 'Knife Girl'."
At this point on, Marui is the one freaking out instead of him which amuses him for a bit.
"Moreover, you touched her equipment and you took one of it which makes you the next victim of her outbursts!" Shirou let the young man catch his breath before he patted his back.
"The more important it is to bring this back to her to prevent any misunderstandings, isn't it? Just tell me where I can find her and I'll take care of the rest."
Did this student listen to him!? Perhaps this one is an idiot at all! He decided to help him out of the blue since he knew a transfer student when he sees one. He did go through this phase where he is like a lost puppy but he will not give up! He will show how dangerous Sagane really is... exactly! If Shirou sees how she acts around others then maybe he will avoid her once and for all.
"Alright but don't tell me I didn't warn you about this. Follow me." Marui led the redhead as they both head towards the buildings where the second years reside.
Meanwhile, in one of the vacant rooms of the building...
"Wha-Where are you, Maria!?" a girl with platinum-blonde hair, reaching down to her hips tied into two low ponytails search desperately through the array of knives she owned. Her round magenta eyes nearly tearing up as the most precious of her knives she named, Maria, is now gone. Out of all the 'friends' she had, Maria is special thus she is in a freak out phenomena and if she doesn't find her at the end of the day...
Bad things will happen.
Shirou and Marui wandered around the four-story building where the vast majority of classes are being held. Fortunately, there aren't that many upperclassmen around. There are also a few facilities dedicated to culinary research to go alongside for the students and staff to use.
"Where do we even find her, Zenji-san?" Shirou asked as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.
"We'll know it once we're in there," Marui replied, looking alternately on the left or right to find any suspecting stuff that could lead them to Minami's whereabouts. He didn't actually know where the girl might be lurking since he only heard her from rumors and watching some of her matches when she was still a first year. Needless to say, Minami held an impressive record of wins with no losses so far.
"Just go away, Satoshi!"
"Come on, Minami-chan, open the door." a familiar voice reached Marui's ears as both he and Shirou followed the source of it. At the next corner is a young man garbed in a Tōtsuki uniform with curly medium brown length hair, sighing to himself and rubbing his aching temples.
"Isshiki-senpai!" Marui called out and the student named Isshiki greeted them with a smile.
"Oh, Marui-kun, what brings you here," Isshiki Satoshi noticed the other student together with his underclassman, "Who is this young fellow you're with?"
"This here is Emiya Shirou, a transfer student starting his first year next week." Marui introduced and the upperclassman shook hands with the redhead all of a sudden.
"Oh, to have another young one among us, this is truly a blessing!" Isshiki said with a delightful look on his face. Shirou felt slight discomfort as this one might be on the tad of unusual behavior with him. "Let us all explore youth altogether!" Alright, this guy seriously has a weird side on him!
"He's like that with almost everyone, better get used to it." the black-haired student still has that memory of his upperclassman with nothing but an apron to cover his naked body when he first arrived at the dormitories. It was still embedded in his brain up to this day. Shirou can still consider himself lucky that he met Isshiki on the school grounds and not on his 'natural habitat'.
"Hah... if only Minami-chan snaps herself out of her stupor..." he felt a bit dejected since one of his classmates is reclusive to others and she is on the other side of the door.
"Is Sagane-senpai inside?" Isshiki nodded his head to him as Shirou took the knife out and presented it to his upperclassman. "This is hers and she dropped it on the way here. I, personally, want to give this to her."
"Is that so? Minami-chan doesn't like anyone touching her utensils, you know? If you gave it to her, she'll send you lying on a hospital bed. Are you certain about this?"
"Aha, trust me, Isshiki-senpai... I know what I'm doing and besides, I have a fascination with bladed tools much like hers. We might find a common ground if I talk to her." Shirou explained and the second year merely scratched his head.
It was true that Sagane Minami had a fascination when it comes to sharp things especially knives. Due to her eccentric behavior, most students avoided his classmate but for him, Minami was a talented one who only needs a little push... and maybe a friend who can relate with. Observing the redhead, he maybe not on the same level of obsessiveness, which is a good thing for him. However, the aura he's carrying is brimming with confidence that he can hold his ground with Minami.
"Okay, Emiya-kun, I entrust her to you." he gave his permission but Marui interjected.
"Sagane-senpai might lash out and accused him of stealing her knife!"
"Thanks for the concern, Zenji-san but I can handle this," Shirou assured them before he entered the room while Isshiki and Marui observed him from the windows outside.
The moment the redhead stepped into the room, he can feel the scrutinizing gaze of his female upperclassman. She already snapped herself out of her funk and threw one knife in his direction.
"Emiya-san!"
"Emiya-kun!"
Fortunately, Shirou catches it in mid-air just inches from his face with his bare hands. He winced in pain a bit as the trickle of blood fell to the floor. He pulled out the knife that she dropped and as expected, the girl had gone hysterical, readying a number of them in her hands.
"Maria," Minami stopped halfway after hearing the name out of the young man's mouth. "This knife was the very first one that you possessed. Despite having numerous and expensive knives in you, this one has a special place in your heart."
"How did you..." she dropped the knife she held and for a moment, she got curious about how the newbie found out that information.
"Let's just say that I have a talent for reading stuff like this," Shirou puts the knife down to the counter and bows down at her. "Have a good day, Sagane-senpai."
The redhead left the room and the two boys outside checked upon him.
"Amazing, you're probably the only person that held out the longest talking to Minami-chan," Isshiki said with amusement.
"For a moment, I thought you were a goner for sure. But that's quite a dare if I must say." Marui commented before noticing the blood on his fellow student's fingers. "We need to see you in the clinic first. I'll see you later, Isshiki-senpai."
The young man nodded at his underclassman, entering the kitchen where Minami is. There, she found the blonde-haired girl setting her knives away, however, he noticed the dangerous look on her face. "Who was that first year, Satoshi?"
"Emiya Shirou, a recent transfer student." he answered and missed the glint she had in her eyes.
"Shi-kun, huh?" a predatory smile formed on her face. A guy such as Shirou was a rarity amongst other males that threw themselves at her, no, she didn't care less about them. All of them do not share the same sympathy as hers when it comes to sharp things. The observations Shirou made were surprisingly accurate and she wouldn't believe that it was sheer dumb luck that got her. She needs to know more about him!
After a trip down the clinic to have his bloodied palm treated, Shirou decided to call it a day. He also made a friend through Marui Zenji who offered him to join their Research Society. At this point, he doesn't have a definite answer since he wanted to explore all the choices he had. Moreover... he has a feeling that he missed something just this morning, he just can't pinpoint what it was.
Shirou arrived at the Nakiri estate and noticed a figure at the main doorway. It suddenly hit him like a truck on what he forgot this morning: he promised Alice that he would teach her archery and she probably waited for him all day.
"Shirou-kun, where have you been!? I'm like waiting for my archery lessons but you didn't show up this morning!" she barked out and he only scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry about that, I just have to run some errands. I'll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise."
Alice pouted at him as she returned back inside with a displeased look. Maybe she'll drown it all out by whipping something up or challenging Ryō. The redhead had gone back to his room for he was sure that the white-haired girl will get it all over by morning. It didn't bother him whether Alice likes him or not, he was here to guard her and that's exactly what she would get.
The numerous boxes waiting in his room, filled with stuff that he has to arranged, didn't miss his eyes. Shirou stretches his hands and proceeds to move all of them to their respective places.
"I guess that's all of it," the redhead muttered as he observed the room. There wasn't that much to do now in the evening aside from dinner. He would have made one for himself but seeing that he is in the household of people who excel in cooking, he would like to get a taste of their works.
He grabbed one of the boxes and to his surprise, one of his projects fell out of the floor.
"Kind of forgot about you." he picked up the sheath from the floor and the katana accompanied by it. This was one of those things that Shirou forged in his spare time back in London. Sure, he can just recreate something similar in his repository but he wanted to actually create a sword with his hands. He observed his handiwork and noticed that the edges of the katana were slightly dulled.
The redhead further searches from the box where the katana was before and found a scraping stone.
"Aha, just what I need." he began to rub the said stone against the blade, and sounds of them being scraped out echoed throughout the room.
Being the secretary of the renowned God's Tongue, it's up to her hands to arrange the workload of Erina. With a notebook in her hands, Hisako Arato walks the solemn hallways of the Nakiri manor. She revered her as an 'Empress' and she is fine to be right behind the shadows of her mistress. As of now, she was invited to come and eat with her. Just the thought of the dishes that Erina will make is enough to squirm her body.
It was an absolute honor to taste the meals that the Nakiri heiress makes. Only a handful of people, mostly at the higher pedestal of life can afford her mistress' food. To think that she, a mere student, can have those meals for free... she was lucky!
"Did I do it too much?"
Hisako momentarily stops upon hearing the mutters and the voice of someone struggling. With the sounds coming from the slightly ajar door, it looks like the individual is scraping something in there.
"Too much sharpening may affect the quality as well…"
Who was this man!? Is it possible they're being robbed by some kind of delinquent? What are the guards even doing at this hour? They're supposed to oversee the security of the manor for any intruders! God knows what this kind of people might do or even steal some valuables here!? Right now she must drive this culprit out of the manor!
"Hey! Stop right there in the name of… eh?" Hisako found the tip of a katana near her neck and too close for her comfort. A few inches away and her head might have gotten separated from her body.
"Oh! I am so sorry, are you…"
The pinkette passed out completely because of fear and the last memory she had was the vestige of the culprit loomed over her.
Shirou catches Hisako in the nick of time before she fell to the floor. The poor girl passes out because of his carelessness of not locking his doors. She may have thought that he was some robber and decided to interject. He was doing some katana exercises when the pinkette barged in and she nearly got caught by his blade.
He carefully carried her to his bed and set aside the notebook she had, waiting for her to wake up.
About 10 minutes later, the redhead heard Hisako's groan and the girl sat beside the bed. Their eyes met and for a moment silence enveloped between them.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah, what just…" her voice trailed off as the events before she passed out came back to her. This man nearly chopped her head off with a katana! "Who are you and what are you doing here!?" she took a defensive stance.
"The name is Emiya Shirou, I work under the Nakiri's," he gave a bow towards the girl who was still cautious at him. He felt that an apology is a must for what he had done to her at least. "Sorry about earlier, it's just that I didn't expect anyone to come here in my room let alone a girl."
"So your response whenever the opposite gender enters into your room is a sword on their face?" she begrudgingly asked and the young man raised his hands in resignation.
"I said I'm sorry, there's no need to get worked up about it. You're still safe and sound, right?" Hisako didn't say anything back as she immediately left the room. Shirou could tell that the pinkette is mad because of what he did, well, he already apologized to her so everything should be fine, right?
Hisako made haste towards Erina's room, her heart still beating profusely by her encounter with Shirou. Not only that, she was late by about ten minutes as well. Her mistress might be wondering where she is by now. Her mind raced through the possibilities of who hired and the kind of work that man does around here. The best assumption she could think of is that the director's involvement.
Whoever it was, clearly they didn't know what kind of person they hired.
Somewhere far away, Sōe Nakiri let out a sneeze.
The sunlight loomed over the curtains in his room at the manor.
"Wake up..."
Shirou grunted a bit, feeling the weight of something on his stomach.
"Shi-kun..."
He slowly opened his eyes, hearing the voice of someone mumbling. He eventually felt a hand touching his face, prompting him to grab it. "~Ah! You like it rough?~"
"Wahhh!" Shirou released his grasp and rolled at the side of the bed, completely caught off guard by the sudden visitor. "What the!? Sagane-senpai?! What are you doing in here!?"
The second year, Minami Sagane, crawled her way towards him, making the redhead uncomfortable more than he ever is now. "I just want to see my future husband while he sleeps... is it wrong for me to do so?"
"Yes! We only met like yesterday and you're referring to me as your future husband! Moreover, you're trespassing private property! What if someone were to see us!?" Shirou explained, hoping that his upperclassman would get the gist of the situation. However, she held her blushing face.
"To think that you care for my well-being, you are one of a kind, Shi-kun!" Minami was about to hug him when she heard someone knocked at the doors.
"Are you awake, Emiya?" Shirou recognized the voice of Ryō Kurokiba, the longtime partner of Alice.
"Y-yeah... can you tell Alice that I'll get ready first and wait for me at the archery range, please?" the redhead looked at the second year who gave him an unimpressed expression.
'Oh well... I might as cook breakfast for milady.' Ryō mused to himself as he left the corridor. Shirou breathes a sigh of relief and turns to Minami whose eyes were empty.
"Are you flirting with that albino girl behind my back?"
"For the record, Sagane-senpai, there are no us, okay? Second, if you try to hurt her, I'm the one you'll be facing," he warned but it didn't faze the girl.
"You're right, you still haven't realized your love for me. Don't worry, I will take care of you everyday, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week." the blonde-haired girl declared with intense emotions.
"Um, just so you know that I already have someone..." his upperclassman took a picture out of her pockets and he immediately recognized who it was. It was a photo of Rin Tohsaka, drinking coffee at one of the tea shops that they both used to go at mornings in Savile Row.
"This woman doesn't suit you at all!" her eyes glinted danger in them as she crumpled the photo.
'She's a stalker!'
"But of course, it's not like I'm not considering your feelings to this. How about a little cooking showdown, yeah? If I win, you'll become mine and forget about Tohsaka Rin!" Shirou felt she's only doing it just to put him in a tight spot and she already managed to do so.
"Fine, but in return, I'll have your knife set if I win." he declared and his upperclassman giggled back.
"There's no way you'll win against me. But I'll give you a handicap, you can choose whatever specialty for our 'Shokugeki'!"
"Shokugeki?" he raised his eyebrows over the unfamiliar term.
"I'll let the albino girl explain it to you," she hopped over the railings and smiled at him. "You better spend the rest of your days wisely since you'll be mine!" she gives him a flying kiss before jumping away at the manor.
'You wouldn't be that bad if you're not a stalker.' he mused as he stood up, readying himself for his lessons at archery.
Patience was probably Alice's weakness, for a long time she had wanted to do something fun other than cooking itself. It still held some fun with competition and stuff but it gets boring when most of the time you win against them. When she heard the news that she would be having a bodyguard, her initial reaction was not of excitement. If we're talking about bodyguards, she imagined it to be hulking old men, following her around.
Alice didn't want that, besides, Ryō is doing so for a long time now, scaring the 'carnivores' as she would like to call men who are hitting on her. However, when her father told her that it would be a champion of archery, her mind wandered to that memory. She can still remember it vividly, seeing the representative of Fuyuki City knuckled up the arrow in his bow. How he hit the mark with his four arrows effortlessly, she thought that was one of the most graceful shows of archery she has ever seen.
"Ryō-kun, did you actually call him? " the girl impatiently asked.
"You need to be patient, milady," Ryō replied, sipping on the tea that he made for the three of them. "He's here."
"Sorry, I'm late, anyways, you sure are prepared, Nakiri-san?" he noticed that the white-haired girl is all geared up except for a missing item. "Wait, where is your muneate?"
"Eh? What's that?" she furrowed her brows upon hearing it.
"You need those to protect your chest from being hit by the strings of the bow," his mind went to other things. "Come to think of it, I need to check the equipment before we start, can you show me where they are?"
Ryō pointed at one of the cabinets and he went over to examine them. Most of it is in still good condition except for the bow. He grabs the muneate and the bow examining it further. "Yeah, I think it's still in working condition, alright, put this in your chest."
Alice did what he ask and slump the armor-looking thing over her body while Ryō is watching them from behind. They spent the rest of the morning with Shirou teaching the fundamentals of kyudo and a bit of history behind it.
"I guess that's pretty much everything that you need to know about kyudo. Let's get to the form, remember, accuracy is not that important but the outcome of establishing the ability to maintain true bodily form and mental focus. Accuracy will come with it once you master the form."
Alice can feel his hands, gliding over her and while he's not touching any inappropriate areas, she felt slightly embarrassed. He was the only one who got close to her at this point.
"Relax, Alice. You're not used to men around, aren't you?" he teased and his words caused the girl to flush a bit.
"W-What? are you t-talking about?" she said in between stutters. "I have Ryō-kun with me and we do stuff." she glanced at her aide and gave him a suggestive look to which he didn't quite catch.
"I don't know what she's talking about. Milady likes to watch romance movies but..." he got cut off by his mistress who covered his mouth.
"Stop saying unnecessary things, okay?" Ryō merely responds with a nod. Shirou watched the two of them bicker to one another though it was the white-haired girl whose doing the talk. They were interrupted by the call of one girl in the hallway.
"Good morning, Alice-sama, there is a letter for the individual named Emiya Shirou." an all-familiar figure to the redhead showed up, still looking as diligent when he first met her.
"Morning, Hishoko-chan!" the girl greeted Erina's secretary and Hisako grumbled at the nickname that she gave. "Have you met my newest servant?"
"Ehem, I indeed met Emiya-san last night and I suggest not to call them servants. They're students just like us and finally, my name is Hisako!" she emphasized the last part to her.
"Geez, stop being Erina with all that grumpiness," the pinkette ignored the girl and gave the letter to Shirou.
"Thanks for delivering this, Arato-san." Shirou thanked the secretary though she has a look of annoyance on her face, probably because of last night's events.
"It's no problem, now if you'll excuse me, I have other things to attend to." she bowed down and left them on their own.
"Did something happen to her? Ah, doesn't matter anyways, so what is it?" Alice asked.
Shirou tore open the envelope and read the letter. His match with Minami has been approved and their match will be next week. He also needs to go to the administration building two days beforehand to pass on what theme their cooking battle will be.
"Wait, what!?" Alice snatched the letter away from him. "A Shokugeki against a second year?"
The disinterested Ryō suddenly became curious as he stood up from his feet, taking a peek at the letter. There it was, with a seal of approval from the Elite Ten. What caught him off guard is the one who challenged the redhead.
"Sagane Minami? That deranged second year challenged you? For what reason?" she seemed to be excited at the prospect of having one of her servants fight a second year.
"That's for me to keep, Nakiri-san." he grabbed it from her and kept it in his pockets.
"Do you want some help? I can lend you a hand if you want to?" the white-haired girl offered but he turned it down immediately. While Alice may have more knowledge on cooking more than he has, this was his to deal with.
"I appreciate the thought but I think I can handle this by myself," Shirou assured her.
"I see," she hummed in thought, appreciating the fact that she got someone who is responsible on his own. Men like him and Ryō was a rarity (or she is just a bit sheltered) around. "If that's the case, you better win! I won't tolerate failure!"
Shirou only chuckled at his mistress' words.
"From what I heard," Ryō spoke up from behind. "Sagane Minami specializes mainly in seafood delicacies. It's better not to choose any kind of seafood ingredient."
"How do you know about this? Did you challenge her?" he curiously asked.
He didn't utter a word, leaving the two of them behind. Shirou wondered if he offended the boy in some way.
"Don't worry, Ryō-kun is like that, always searching for opponents that he can beat. Sagane-senpai is probably one of his targets," she gave a sly smile at him. "If you beat senpai then he'll probably gun for you." Shirou only gave a nod at her, thinking of ways how to deal with Minami.
"Nakiri, we may have to cut our lessons for today. We'll continue this in some other time."
"Mou, fine! Only because you need to deal with Sagane-senpai and I wouldn't allow defeat, got it?"
The best course of action that he would take for now is to study any past matches that the second year in her previous year.
A/N: Hey, look, an update! Now that's something you don't see now and then! As you can see, I have two new characters here, the first one came from Sekirei while the other one came from another cooking manga. You can search them up on the internet since I want to keep this note short.
As for any updates on my other stories, I'm not that consistent in bringing out chapters since I have a job now (finally!).
That's all for today.