Erina could still feel her knees wobbling from the pressure she'd just endured prior.
You know that feeling at the moment you have to jump off the high-end of the diving boards at a pool, or going bungee jumping?
Yeah well, that sensation had yet to end for Erina especially when she considered that her and Rindo's faces were now known to a secret magic society. They could appear from out of nowhere, recognize her, and then she'd have to propagate the lie of actually believing she knew anything of what she was talking about.
Manga protagonists make it look so easy.
Erina knew that it wasn't realistic to compare herself to the main character of the manga she reads, but at the same time, manga had been her only escape to a different reality since young.
Now that her Mangas were proving to have some semblance of rationality in reality, she was half-excited, and half-terrified; especially after having to bullshit her way out of a group of magi with an ignorant partner more intent on sabotaging her than aiding her!
Words couldn't describe the sense of relief and longing she felt when she finally found herself and Rindo out in the open street watching people go about their day.
She was never going to take this sight for granted again.
The world of manga was scary.
"And where do you think you're going?!" Erina practically tackled Rindo's back when she tried to slink away back towards Totsuki.
"Got to tell Eishi," Rindo muttered in all seriousness. "He didn't believe me the first time I said that a secret government organization was afoot, and after what happened now, he's got to believe me! Not just a secret organization, but a gathering of a team of unlikely supers! Of course, not all of them seem sane, but maybe it only happens when their angry? Think about it! It's the Aveng-"
"Will you shut up, please!" Erina muffled Rindo's mouth with her hands.
They were still practically just outside the magic society's building.
Rindo's eyes widened before she realized a key concept and glanced back towards Erina. Slowly removing Erina's hands from her mouth, Rindo gave her a searching look.
"You knew about them before hand? The Aveng-"
"Can you stop with that! This is manga, not comics or movies!" Erina blurted out in frustration. "Take this seriously, we could have died!"
Rindo blinked owlishly. "You know for someone preaching to keep silent, you're sort of outdoing yourself by yelling…"
Erina glared before immediately dragging Rindo along with her. "You won't tell anyone. You don't understand," she hissed. "We have to find Shirou, he's the main character."
"Okay, you just lost me there," Rindo felt slightly exasperated. Where was the rumoured cold beauty that was Erina Nakiri, and who was this naïve girl? "You've obviously got it wrong. Shirou's the Captain of the team."
Erina glared; her teeth gritted. "Don't. Patronize. Me." This was the last thing she needed right now.
Rindo curled her lips, taken aback. "But I wasn't."
That just makes it worse.
Erina wanted to cry. If she could have had any partner in this real-life manga, she'd prefer the reliable type, and not the dense type.
Rindo huffed.
Erina winced inwardly; did she say that out loud?
"Pot, meet kettle." Rindo wasn't amused.
"Hey! Don't get mad just because the truth hurts," Erina chided. If anything, she was the one in the higher position as she knew more than Rindo and wasn't so disillusioned. "Don't say anything to anyone, okay? We still have to meet up with Shirou to start the first arc. I will not tolerate a damsel-rescue arc because of carelessness."
Rindo held her tongue at this point. She had her opinions, but Rindo could see that it was for the best that she not pushes Erina any further. The stress from earlier must have agitated Erina too much and devolved her deductive reasoning skills.
Manga? What a joke. It's obviously comics and movies here.
Speaking of which, Rindo suddenly remembered something. "How do you become a magician?"
Erina gave Rindo an utterly confused look, her eyes slanted, and one brow furrowed.
"You know, that magic and food thing," Rindo elaborated. It was probably the wrong thing to say. "It seems useful, and may let them accept me into the team."
Erina stilled for a fraction of a second mostly in disbelief and outrage. Did Rindo not only fail to comprehend what she'd just said, but actually believed the nonsense and dribble she spewed off from earlier too? Judging from how serious Rindo appeared, yes; yes, she did.
Although Erina was adept at maintaining her composure even in the highest levels of society, there was something about idiots and 'friends' that could immediately get under anyone's skin.
Rage clouding her better judgement, she was seconds away from rounding on Rindo and ripping her a new one when she suddenly noticed a familiar face mingling in with the crowd of passersby.
Her frustrations immediately redirected.
"You!" She pointed at the Yukihira out in the crowd, a vein popping over her temples from all the stress. "Where's your brother?!" She spat in contempt while pushing through pedestrians in her way and dragging Rindo along.
Soma never expected to suddenly get yelled at from out of nowhere. Usually, he would hardly react too much with his laid-back personality, but this time was different.
Erina couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Soma was being jumpy, almost skittish when he saw her.
Erina's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Soma from head to toe. She quickly noticed that he wasn't in uniform, but was in casual formal wear as if he'd just attended some sort of gathering or party.
"A-About that…He's kind of busy at the moment." Soma tried to dodge the issue.
Erina wasn't having that excuse.
Did Shirou not understand what she'd just been through?!
She could have died in that building.
"Busy with what?!" She harped.
Soma's eyes darted back and forth almost warily at the crowd as if someone was listening in and would barge in on him if he said anything wrong. How odd.
Sheepishly, Soma scratched at his cheek before leaning in to whisper, afraid that others would hear. "Does your grandfather happen to know a Fujimura group?"
Taken aback by the random question, much of the heat left Erina's face.
"No clue." Erina furrowed her brows in consternation, her arms crossing, her features unamused. "However, my grandfather has been doing some investigation recently after a certain incident with an unsavory bunch."
Soma carefully took note of the bandages wrapped around Erina's forearm while Erina took a moment past her frustrations to feel guilty about leading her grandfather on. Her injuries weren't the result of some ordinary encounter with hooligans, but something she couldn't even begin to explain to her grandfather.
Erina knit her brows. "Speaking of which, why are you asking?"
"N-No reason," Soma spoke a bit too quickly. "I was just informed I had an elder sister earlier today, and your grandfather doesn't seem to like her very much hanging around Totsuki. My brother was playing mediator before I slipped out with a friend."
Ah, it was one of those awkward moments then, Erina assumed offhandedly, not prying any further while Soma shifted guiltily from foot to foot. Only Soma knew the real implications of the statement he just made, and he'd left his brother to the wolves.
"A party? A party?" Erina felt someone cut the wind off of her sails in her exasperation.
Here she was trying not to die, and her main benefactor, her one only hope out of this mess was out socializing!
Both Soma and Erina sighed at the same time, the two glancing at each other in surprise.
To each their own troubles they supposed.
"Where did you say your brother was staying?" Erina suddenly asked while keeping a vice-like grip on Rindo's arm; lest Rindo make light of the recent supernatural matter and walk away without the full picture.
Soma blinked while staring at both Erina and Rindo. Beyond his own troubles, as a healthy male, he was impressed.
His brother works fast.
As if the magical side of the world wasn't already giving Shirou enough trouble, now it was the modern side.
At first, it was just Taiga innocently wishing to meet with a new surrogate younger brother, and then it had devolved into something much more complex when Senzaemon showed up.
Thinking about it now, Shirou should have paid attention to the signs, yet he'd been too preoccupied with keeping the level of excitement low for Soma. It was Soma's first time meeting Taiga and her family group, and Shirou had first-hand experience with how rowdy things could get.
Needless to say, but Soma wouldn't be prepared for it, and as a responsible elder sibling, he'd been trying to make things a little easier for Soma to endure especially when Taiga was involved. He'd also been subtly trying to push Soma to realize that there was a girl vying for his attention using all kinds of means such as coincidently sitting next to him, bumping arms, and even twirling locks of her hair right in front of Soma. However, Soma was entirely clueless of Ikumi's efforts.
How dense could his younger brother be, and why had Soma been looking at him with pity?
Behind Shirou, and in full sight by Soma, had been three other women Soma had observed Shirou remain oblivious towards.
Unknown to both brothers, but the two were both trying to help each other out and realize how dense they were being to those around them.
In any case, Shirou was too distracted with keeping things civil for Soma that he failed to notice the tell-tale warning signals of the bounded field set up around the villa going off. It wasn't a killing or injuring sort of bounded field like most magi would erect around their workshop or residence, but a simple bounded field that would alert the user to any new arrivals.
Rin had gotten the memo that someone was coming and may have tried to get his attention, but Taiga had ended up snagging her for a little private 'chat' about how things were going with Shirou over seas.
Left utterly unprepared, when Senzaemon had arrived at the villa's doorstep, and was let in by one of Taiga's drunk colleagues, all Shirou could do was react.
This led to the awkward situation in which Shirou had to think fast and get Soma and Ikumi out of the villa before they could get implicated in this mess. They were just first-year students, and just thinking about what sort of trouble they'd be in if the head of the school saw them right now, was enough to get Shirou to act.
Soma and Ikumi were personally escorted out by him using the back entrance, and ushered away by Arturia who knew the fastest way out of the villa without being detected.
With this immediate priority dealt with, the present situation was at hand.
Judging from the confusion on everyone's faces in the villa's reception room, it was fair to say that none of them were truly prepared for this.
"You are the representative of the Fujimura group?" Senzaemon asked.
Senzaemon stood his ground despite being alone and facing an entire group. Then again, based on Senzaemon's frame and tall stature, he looked like he could hold a fight pretty well.
Senzaemon's question was directed towards Taiga who was surrounded protectively by her family's men as a sign of trust and respect for her position.
There seated at the center and flanked by half-dressed men and women with tattoos on their arms and chests, was an embarrassed Taiga.
It wasn't exactly the best picture to have for first impressions, but then again, a similar situation was happening for Shirou as the surrogate 'young master,' of the group. He could relate to how Taiga was feeling.
Rin was sighing on the side hall while cradling her head, while Luvia and Arturia spectated from the other side, one idly eating from a bowl of chicken katsu don, and the other simply assessing.
"You are Taiga Fujimura?" Senzaemon decided to be more direct. He wouldn't have arrived if he didn't already gather enough intelligence to merit the visit.
"Y-Yes." Taiga reacted somewhat abashedly to the question. For rival groups and people that she knew were in the wrong, she could be fierce as she was on the side of reason, but against an innocent law-abiding citizen, she couldn't act too overbearingly.
Senzaemon wasn't here for simple pleasantries. His expression took on a hardened and stern outlook. "Recently, there was in incident of assault on a student that occurred near my academy. How sure are you in your ability to manage your colleagues?"
Shirou fidgeted from side to side. He knew exactly what incident Senzaemon was talking about, but he had no way to explain it to make it believable.
In fact, Senzaemon's conjecture about what happened made the most sense considering the timing of the Fujimura groups arrival and all.
There were many things that Senzaemon was willing to tolerate, but an assault on his already fragile granddaughter wasn't one of them. After using his connections to dig around for anything suspicious that may have occurred near Totsuki as of recently, he found evidence of movement from underground syndicates, the most powerful of which, had forced out all rival groups in the area.
This bigwig Yakuza group was known as the Fujimura group, and they were the only ones around when the assault happened on Erina.
More digging ended up excavating information that the daughter of the Fujimura group, Taiga Fujimura had recently made a trip to Totsuki to meet up with a close relative.
Actions speak louder than words, and when Senzaemon saw Shirou protected around a group of Yakuza, he began to harbour the suspicion that Erina may have been attacked for trying to fail Shirou and his brother during Totsuki's entrance exam.
As bold as this thought was, Senzaemon still had doubts as he already had a good impression of Shirou, and Soma was raised by Joichiro.
The only other conclusion Senzaemon could reasonably come up with, was involvement in Taiga Fujimura's end.
When Senzaemon spoke, he may have come off as a bit unfriendly since it provoked a response from others that weren't Taiga.
"I don't know what you're insinuating, but the young miss has nothing to do with this."
"That's right! We haven't done a single thing worth mentioning since coming here."
"Don't drag the young miss's reputation down based on just your assumptions! We didn't do anything!"
The Fujimura group members were outraged on Taiga's behalf, and Taiga herself looked dumbfounded. There was no way she would believe her family was out of line. They may look tough and menacing, but they were good people at heart who ended up on the wrong side of the law due to different circumstances.
Shirou could vouch each one of them if need be, but this clearly didn't matter for Senzaemon who could only base his assumptions off of the evidence he gathered and his first impressions of the Fujimura group.
Taiga knew how to differentiate between personal and important matters, and an assault? She was a teacher in Homurahara as her day job. It was sickening to imagine that someone in her group would be low enough to attack a student.
This was why Taiga couldn't believe it.
Senzaemon was wrong, plain and simple, but arguing over the issue won't change anyone's opinions.
Actions speak louder than words.
"Its fine guys." Taiga furrowed her brows while considering a solution for the accusation. "Starting from today, just stay out of Totsuki and its immediate vicinity."
Taiga nodded towards Senzaemon who was taken aback by her lack of outrage over his words.
Creases formed over Senzaemon's forehead. Had he been wrong and accused someone unrelated? This wasn't the behaviour of someone guilty of hiding a crime, and someone Senzaemon's age had long since developed a keen eye to determine the true nature of others.
Taiga's gaze was bereft of any hesitation. For the sake of her family and associates, she wouldn't appear weak when they were being wrongfully accused.
"Is this good enough for you? We wouldn't be doing this if we were guilty." Taiga reasoned while quieting down any protest from her colleagues who felt like she had no need to prove herself.
Senzaemon was stunned by Taiga's decisiveness. Right now, everyone could see that Taiga had an aura of a authority fitting for a Yakuza boss's daughter.
"A likely story," Senzaemon blurted out due to a lapse in judgement. There was no heat in the tone, nor any agitated inflections to provoke a reaction. This was simply his knee-jerk response, and it evidently didn't sit well with the members of the Fujimura group.
Taiga was already conceding to prove herself and her group innocent, and you would still doubt her sincerity?
The members of the Fujimura group with shorter tempers were already stewing in their anger.
Instantly, Shirou tried to mediate, but the look on Taiga's face and the way she shook her head at him indicated for him to let her handle this.
"Listen here, if we really wanted to off someone, we wouldn't have done such a sloppy job and let them get away," someone spoke out derisively before she was shut up by a look from Taiga.
Taiga didn't fault the Fujimura groups members for getting angry on her behalf, and was actually gladdened at their actions. However, she didn't want to escalate things for Shirou's sake since he was attending this school.
"This really wasn't done by us," Taiga said calmly. "It may have been a rival group that dares to operate in secret around us. If it really is, then we'll find them ourselves and deal with them."
Senzaemon could feel Taiga's sincerity. She really wasn't putting on airs or trying to let him hear what he wanted. She was genuine.
"You will?" Senzaemon inquired.
Taiga hardened her resolve, her eyes narrowing. "This is for our group's reputation, so we'll keep an eye out," she promised. "As for me though, I will stay here since I'm on my vacation pay and want to enjoy it, while the rest can start inquiries using the Fujimura groups connections."
"You wish to stay?" Senzaemon was perplexed, up until he glanced at Shirou and realized just why Taiga was here. The mystery surrounding Joichiro's eldest son only grew deeper and deeper the longer Senzaemon got to know him.
"Yup," Taiga reverted to a flippant attitude, more in line with her carefree character. However, Senzaemon was going to put a damper on it.
"I can't just allow you to idle around in school grounds," he reasoned justly.
"Then I'll work as a Totsuki Academy enforcer," Taiga was quick to answer. "Think of it as temporary transfer. I work as a teacher in another school, so just hire me on the official records. There won't be any other assault cases while I'm here, and this should take your suspicions off of us as well if we're nearby."
Senzaemon hummed in thought at the proposal before eventually nodding.
Both Taiga and Senzaemon got up to discuss further, and soon enough they were making their way out of the villa.
Just before leaving with Taiga though, Senzaemon gave Shirou a deep and searching look.
In the end, he was still doing Joichiro a favour.
"Please don't forget that this is a culinary school." Senzaemon reminded Shirou. "I don't wish to remind you that the pursuit of gourmet excellence should be what you should focus on rather than other 'underground' activities."
Shirou knew exactly what Senzaemon was referring to, and the presence of Yakuza in the villa wasn't doing him any favours.
"I'll keep it mind," Shirou said wryly.
Senzaemon nodded and then left with Taiga.
With Taiga gone, the rest of the Fujimura group stayed for a little longer to socialize with Shirou before calling it quits and leaving in bulk.
"See you around, young master!" The Yakuza all bowed by the waist at the villa's entrance, the sight of which wound have left a deep impression on any normal person, but to Shirou this was normal.
Now that everything had finally settled down, Shirou returned to the villa, shut the door behind him, and decided to make his way back to the venue where Rin, Luvia, and Arturia were helping to tidy things up.
He tired both mentally and physically right now, and all he wanted was to take some time to sort his thoughts out, but this wasn't' going to happen.
Between Taiga, Senzaemon, and the Fujimura group leaving the villa, it was almost impossible to use the bounded field to detect for intruders due to how many people were currently walking within it.
The sudden doorbell at the front door took Shirou by surprise.
Thinking that Taiga or members of the Fujimura group may have just forgotten something, Shirou leisurely opened the shoji door, looked at who was in front of him, and then reflexively shut the door on their faces.
Deep breaths. Relaxing breaths.
Just when he thought that things would finally calm down, they just weren't.
A shadow could be seen through the shoji door reaching for the door's handle, forcing the door open since Shirou didn't bother locking it. He wouldn't be able to avoid this problem for much longer anyway.
"Why'd you close the door on us?!" Erina's face was heated in her growing wrath and indignation. Beside Erina was Rindo, the sight of which only added to Shirou's troubles.
Shirou nursed his growing migraine by pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry. I was having dejavu," he muttered tiredly, his gaze more weirdly fixated on Rindo who he didn't figure had any involvement in this issue. Why was she here? "Please come in."
He put aside his doubts and played his role as a proper host to two uninvited guests. He wasn't stupid. Obviously, he could see that something had happened, and it was a good that they'd come.
These two had already been exposed to magecraft.
This was a problem that everyone should deal with.
Experience told him that anything he tried to keep quiet about and handle alone always backfires on him eventually. It was better to endure another round of Rin-styled chastisement rather than let this matter take everyone by surprise, leaving them unable to react.
At his prompting, both Erina and Rindo soon followed him to the villa's main venue where Rin and everyone dropped what they were doing and just stared at the new arrivals.
"We've got some explaining to do," Shirou said, trying to ignore the penetrating power of Rin and Luvia's glower.
He already knew it, okay? This was his fault, so at least he was trying his best to work things out.
After an eventful discussion about magi and the moonlit world, Erina quickly began sweating nervously considering her prior circumstance while Rindo looked thoughtful with her lips upturned.
"So, what's going on?" Shirou addressed the elephant in the room.
How had Rindo been dragged into all this as well?
"Oh, I'll tell you what's going on!" Erina could finally vent. "We nearly died when this idiot couldn't keep her mouth shut, and implied she was also one of your students!"
Rindo laughed sheepishly after the seriousness of everything sank in.
"Then we get whisked away to this strange congregation of loonies trying to cook with magic that you're apparently the Dean of!"
"What?" Shirou and everyone else felt like had just heard something ridiculous just now, but Erina kept ranting.
"They made Rindo 'demonstrate' our craft, but I knew she had no idea how to use magic so I had to improvise on the spot! Then I get called out and questioned by this arrogant Lorelei lady who walks like she owns the place. She fed me the worst cake I've ever eaten, and then lets us go after asking us to give you a warning."
The sound of glass shattering echoed out while shards from a broken cup surrounded both Rin and Luvia's feet. They'd both dropped whatever they were drinking just now simultaneously.
"C-Can you repeat that name?" Rin and Luvia glanced at each other warily. Surely, they must have misheard or Erina was just mistaken.
"Lorelei," Erina repeated with a huff.
Rin and Luvia suddenly acted as if their sails had been cut.
Suddenly, Shirou recalled a certain memory.
"You must be talking about the magus who sent me a letter demanding I return to the Clock Tower. I ended up throwing the letter away more than a week ago."
Luvia and Rin stared blankly at Shirou while Arturia tilted her head, as if trying to recall why that name should matter.
"You oaf!" Rin got up and abruptly started wringing Shirou's neck back and forth, almost frothing at the mouth in her exasperation- no, in her terror.
Admittedly, Shirou hadn't seen such an expression on Rin's face since the Holy Grail War, but what stunned him was how serious both Rin and Luvia were being. They both had their own pride in their craft and capabilities, so there weren't many things that could affect them so heavily.
"We're dead." Luvia had a hollow gleam in her eyes. "We're so dead we'll have to invent a new word for dead."
"Anyways," Erina continued, befuddled at Rin and Luvia's reaction. She stared at Shirou. "This Lorelei person told me to tell you that if you dare make her wait for any longer, she's going to come personally."
"Then let her come." Shirou was already sick and tired of dealing with the arrogant attitudes of magi as of late. This Lorelei person seemed to top the list of the most willful and prideful sort of magi.
"NOOOOO!" Luvia and Rin screamed in abject horror.
Luvia joined Rin and together they renewed their efforts at wringing his neck back and forth to make him see reason. "You don't understand, you fool! Lorelei's the Queen of the Clock Tower! She hunts True Ancestors single-handedly!"
What?
Shirou suddenly thought of something about the Clock Tower that all magi knew of.
One was to stay away from the Wizard Marshal for your own sanity.
And two was to never offend the Queen of the Blue Bloods.
Lorelei was said Queen.
Oh shit.
His situation gradually began to set into his mind, forcing him to think things through seriously at this point.
Based on what Erina and Rindo had explained, there really was a new gathering of magi devoted through pursing magecraft through culinary arts…And he was the presumed Dean.
Cooking as an ideal.
The thought came to mind like lightning and thunder reverberating throughout his very being. Although it would be dangerous, this was also a chance.
This could very well be the proof of success he needed to convince himself of this new method; a trial in which the battlefield didn't involve blood or violence, but skill and coordination to sway the thoughts of even modern magi.
A new path to the Root and in saving others.
A Food War.
"I'll give them a visit." He solemnly decided. "Pretending Lorelei doesn't exist won't get me anywhere," he murmured.
"I'll come with you," Arturia was quick to action.
Rin and Luvia glanced at each other, and then towards Arturia before clasping their hands into fists, unwilling to lose out. "We'll come too."
"You're all crazy," Erina felt like crying while Rindo just went with the flow. "Mommy, I-I don't want to go back," she cried to herself
Soon enough, no one was left in the villa.
Instead, everyone eventually found themselves in front of a certain building with a nervous Erina and a frenetic Rindo leading the way.
There was an official sign post at the front of the building.
'The Voracious Gluttony.'
Shirou sucked in a breath. If he couldn't convince the Queen to take his side, then what more could he say for other magi? He had to give this a try with his utmost effort.
This was the first real step of Dean Emiya towards enlightenment.
Thanks for reading!
I have a new novel out and the link is below for Survivor's Log: Reflections. Samples can be read at Fiction Press, and the Paper back is also available now.
Next update: Vasto of White
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious
Book links:
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Survivor's Log Reflection: Amazon.c-om/dp/B08VDDGN7Z?