For the past few days, Erina didn't know what she should be doing in this new secretive society she'd abruptly involved herself in. By the day, she was a famed individual and cook, but by night…frankly she had no idea.

Her manga references gave her moderate insights to what she should expect, but the fact that Shirou hadn't come to seek her out so far felt disconcerting. He couldn't have possibly forgotten about her, could he?

The thought was jarring, especially when she considered how stupid some manga protagonists could be until unexpected circumstances force their hand. Was Shirou one of those airhead types who neglected the bigger picture?

She frowned, her lips curving downward while she absently walked down Totsuki Academy's halls. For her sake, her grandfather had made it so that she didn't have to attend any classes or meetings after seeing the injuries that had been inflicted on her. As such, she found herself stuck with a majority of free time that she spent letting her thoughts wander.

Hisako had gifted her with bags full of manga and she'd pursued through a majority of them as if her life depended on it. Now, all kind of scenarios played in her head, and although a part of her could tell she was being childish in her assumptions about manga, what did it mater now that things were real?

There was a secret magic organisation in the world, and she's now been dragged into their affairs. Coincidently, she was saved by an unlikely protagonist who then began detailing this new world's dangers. It was like the events were following a script.

Now all that was left was to determine the 'characters' in this real-life manga.

Caught up in her thoughts, Erina didn't notice that a certain free-spirited individual had been tailing her ever since noticing the bandages Erina had on her person. Everyone in Totsuki was curious in some manner, but none really approached her due to her closed off and cold exterior.

One such individual though had no qualms invading Erina's personal space.

"Well, if isn't it the cute number ten?"

Erina staggered as someone wrapped their arms around her shoulders and pressed their weight on her. Long tresses of red hair and the wild exotic smell of venison clued Erina in just to who exactly had the audacity to jump her.

"Rindo," she called out in alarm, alternating from flustered and annoyed while grimacing. Of the Elite Ten, Rindo's flippant and jovial character clashed heavily against Erina's studious outlook to academics. "What do you want?"

Rindo snorted, pushing off Erina and pouting despite being unaffected by Erina's harsh tone. "Is there any reason why we can't just greet each other as colleagues?"

Erina scoffed, the arrogance of her demeanor an inherited trait of her adolescent years. "I'll be taking my leave if nothing else."

"Now wait, hold on!" Rindo's words fell on deaf ears as Erina just walked on her way.

Unperturbed though, Rindo followed along while humming. "Sooo, what's with the injuries?" She asked absently.

Erina clicked her tongue. "…I fell."

Rindo stared at the red creeping up the tips of Erina's ears and smiled. "You're a bad liar Nakiri."

"And you're nosy," Erina hmphed and increased her pace, but Rindo just laughed and kept up. No matter how fast Erina moved, Rindo would just speed up accordingly. Comparing the stamina of the two, Erina was soon panting for breath while Rindo looked hardly winded.

Pressing on a cramp over her midsection, Erina felt peeved at the grin Rindo was sending her. What? Did is really matter if she didn't exercise as much as she ought to? Rindo was the odd one out. What cook would exercise more than necessary. It was absurd.

"Would you like to stop for some water?" Rindo suggested.

"Shut up," Erina glowered before huffing from the exertion. "Why are you following me?" She got right to the heart of the matter.

Rindo skipped, her hands clasping behind her. "Just curious is all," she chirped. "Also," a trace of heightened tension flickered across Rindo's features, her face scrunching up. "I wouldn't go where I think you're going right now if I were you," Rindo advised gravely.

Erina frowned. Since Shirou wasn't seeking her out, she'd decided to take the initiative. It wasn't as if she didn't know that Shirou was staying in a villa her grandfather had lent to him.

"This doesn't concern you," Erina finally relented with a sigh. "This involves confidential matters," she stressed.

Something glinted in Rindo's eyes. "Oh, I think I can guess. I suppose that we've both found out Shirou's little secret, yes?"

Erina's eyes narrowed. The secondary heroine?

She assessed Rindo from head to toe, and ended up fixated at the size of her chest.

"You alright Nakiri? You look like you swallowed a lemon." Rindo blinked while smiling abashedly in good nature. "In any case, now might not be a good time to visit Shirou."

"Why?" Erina knit her brows.

The two had already left Totsuki's school premise and were walking down the path to the Villa when Rindo suddenly grabbed Erina's arm and hid her behind the shrubs.

"Look for yourself," Rindo whispered.

Y-Yakuza?

"Special undercover forces."

What? Erina felt dumbfounded at Rindo's answer.

Still, Erina shut her mouth after seeing several patrolling men and women nearby with distinct tattoos on the back of their necks or arms. What was Shirou doing with Yakuza? Her breathing quickened as adrenaline flooded into her blood. No, hold on and think. Every main character has some sort of unfathomable background in manga. What was she supposed to be surprised about?

Gathering her courage, she shot up from the bushes even as Rindo tried to pull her back down. Of course, the commotion they caused was noticed by a passing Yakuza.

"I-Is Shirou around?" Erina asked nervously.

The Yakuza blinked, pulling down his black aviators to assess her and grinned. "Oh, you want to see the young Master? I'll have to ask that you come at another time. The young Ms.'s still too excited about meeting a new younger brother."

"Uhm, yeah, ugh sure," Erina felt her tongue tangling in the face of the scar the Yakuza had revealed behind his glasses. T-These people were dangerous. "Then please tell Shirou that Erina dropped by."

The Yakuza nodded, and Erina quickly left with Rindo soon after. The two stopped at the edge of the forest entering the path to the villa, but this didn't mean that trouble was over.

Erina glanced up from where she was panting for breath and cursed when she saw two foreigners in old noble's clothing making their way towards her. She tried to run, but ended up cursing her athletic ability when her feet hurt too much to move too fast.

"You're the Dean's apprentice, are you not?" One of the foreigners, a man in an immaculate suit, called out.

"Dean?" Erina's features stiffened, but she hummed to maintain a mask of nonchalance. "Do you mean my grandfather, the head of the school?" She'd dealt with many such people before trying to use her to get something out of her grandfather, but this felt off. She couldn't help but ball her hands into fists especially when the man brushed the matter aside.

"Ah, it only make's sense for the Dean's apprentice to have such connections in the ordinary world, but no. The Dean I speak of is Mr. Emiya."

Oh…Ooh. Magic side people. The cold and indifferent expressions of the magus that tried to kill her came to mind, and Erina shivered.

Erina pursed her lips, her muscles tensing, a fact that Rindo didn't miss. "Uhm, y-yes that's me," she shuddered. Now that she looked carefully, the man and woman before her being amicable was likely due to Shirou's influence.

No matter how lightly she may seem to have been taking the situation, her manga detailed full well how ruthless hidden organizations can be. If she was found to have no relation to magic, then she'd be killed just like Shirou said. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted as Rindo stepped up to the foreigners and placed Erina behind her back.

"Sorry to say, but whatever you want my junior for will have to wait." Rindo said coquettishly, trying to play off the situation with a subtle glare. "We've made prior plans," Rindo winked at Erina, not knowing her words would cause no end of trouble for Shirou. When it rains, it pours.

No-No! Stop. You don't know who you're dealing with! Erina's complexion paled, trying to stomp her heel down on Rindo's foot to dissuade her, but Rindo shifted her weight and moved her foot out of the way.

Rindo smiled playfully at Erina with an expression that screamed 'leave this to me.'

"You are her senior?" The woman at the side asked curiously while the suited man remained unperturbed. Rindo straightened her back and brushed her hair for flair. There was a grin on her face that revealed a pair of charming fangs.

"That's right," Rindo outright lied while looking at her nails, silencing Erina's rebuttal with a finger. "Taught her everything she know."

Now Erina grimaced. What a bold claim. If not for the situation she would have scowled.

"Good, this saves time," the man glanced around the surroundings, noting that no one was around. He then snapped his finger and an invitation card appeared in his hands.

Erina watched the way Rindo's expression jerked at the sudden display of magic, but it was still in the realms of 'possible.' It was just a letter after all.

"Neat trick. Use it to impress?" Rindo sounded kind of unsure.

The man glared, insulted. "Don't belittle me just because I'm a third-rate. Even I can do something as simple as this." He flicked the letter to Erina who stiffly caught it. "An invitation," the man explained. "We'd like you both to come with us as apprentices of the Dean. Though you aren't the Dean, surely you would know some of his insights. We'd prefer the Dean's personal instruction, but he's been hard to reach as of late because of the damn Edelfelt heiress and the red demon constantly monopolizing him."

"Let's just go," the woman's voice was monotone.

Something about the way the woman was looking at Erina and Rindo made the both of them feel like there really wasn't much choice in the matter. A small draft in the wind became a light storm that lifted both Rindo and Erina off their feat.

"What the fu-" Erina quickly muffled Rindo's mouth before she could display her surprise. No magus would act in such a way after seeing another magus's magecraft. They'd both die if they gave away the fact that they weren't magi.

"Please, leave transportation to us," the man nodded politely as a magus could.

A second later, and the entire group was taken forward on a platform of wind. There was a gap of separation between the foreigners and Erina and Rindo, giving Erina some leeway to calm down.

"Erina," Rindo took in a shaky breath. "W-What's going on?"

Rindo finally realized that something was wrong.

Erina didn't have much of an answer, but there was one that came to mind.

"Manga," was Erina's response. She looked at Rindo with all seriousness while trying not to attract the attention of the other two in front of her.

"Secret. Organization," Erina gestured to her bandaged wounds in warning. "P-Play along," she explained further before she and Rindo were deposited inside a newly established building filled with foreigners.

Rindo had registered Erina's words, but it just didn't click until she got a good luck at what the people around her in this building were doing.

Ridiculous explanation of manga or not, watching a magus produce dark flames and archaic magic circles to heat up a frying pan left little to imagine. Rindo could do nothing else but nod and swallow at the given explanation.

"Secret organization," Rindo murmured, her thoughts suddenly shifting back to Shirou. No: Dean Shirou as he was being called.

Rindo glanced at Erina beside her in growing realization.

[Erina: God Tongue.]

She then silently proceeded to observe her surroundings.

[Agent A: Fire Fist.]

A man tried to cook food with his bare hands. Rindo then looked left.

[Agent B: Puppet Master.]

A woman neatly instructed a puppet to cut food ingredients on a chopping board.

[Agent C: Physical Enhancement.]

She watched a man lift a fridge in place with one hand.

Then finally…A memory came to mind of her last meeting with a certain someone and her discoveries on that day. Shirou Yukihira.

[Special Forces: Code name: Emiya]

S-She'd heard of something similar to this before: A secret government organization that gathered a league of the extraordinary, and all that was missing was the eyepatch man.

T-This was deep.

Lost in her thoughts, Rindo remained utterly silent; a blessing for Erina who was inwardly panicking. If this were manga, shouldn't this be the moment Shirou arrived to save the day or offer some brilliant explanation to land them out of trouble and not being involved with Yakuza?

No such events occurred. Instead, as Erina and Rindo were led to what looked like a kitchen occupied by magi who'd never cooked in their life, Erina felt only a sense of foreboding.

"If you would please," the magus that had escorted them bowed lightly. "We know it's taboo for a magus to ask for the craft of another, and as such we won't ask for details. Instead, we'd like for you to demonstrate your Master's teachings so we can infer understanding for ourselves."

Erina felt her knees wobble as all attention fell on her.

H-How was she supposed to get out of this?

The 'leave it to me,' expression Rindo was making again gave no confidence to Erina. Instead, she dreaded what sort of misunderstanding her senior had made now.

Rindo stepped forward to speak.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for smaller update. I've been trying to get used to writing without glasses until a new pair can come in this January, but its slow going and it get dizzy after staring for too long.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I forgot to say a season's greeting so I'm doing it now.

Next update: Vasto of White

P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious

Fiction Press: Survivor's Log: Reflections (In editing phase)

Book link: Fatedlegacydark. ca