Back at it again, but not at Krispy Kreme. Good morrow to the, it is I, the Eldritch Namer. And I'm a lying liar who can't stop procrastinating. I meant to get this out before 2020 ended, as one last disaster for the year, but hey, laziness is the enemy. Oh, and school sucks.

Also, for those of you who read Be a Chef and Duality, I have some news for you in the AN at the end of the chapter. Not sure if it's good news or bad news. Some of you might see it one way, and some of you might see it another. TLDR: I'm either returning to Duality or rewriting it again.

Now, onto the chapter!

Chapter 3: Progression

The former Emiya siblings sat in a public park. Children were playing with their parents watching over them nearby, birds landed in trees chirping happily, overall it was an average day. It was a day off from school obviously, otherwise there wouldn't be this many kids out at this time of day. Shirou and Miyu were under the shade of a very large tree.

Miyu sat on her legs, hands resting on her thighs in seiza. Shirou sat across from her, choosing to instead cross his legs with closed eyes. She could hear him mutter 'Trace on'. In his hands was a tree branch, with blue circuit-like lines stretching across it. He raised it up so she could see it clearly, then opened his eyes as the lines got brighter. "Now, try snapping it in half. Use Sapphire if you want." He said, tossing the stick to her.

She caught it, and placed a hand on both ends of the dead wood. She tried bending it, feeling the rough shape against her palms and fingers. It gave slightly, but did not break. She let out a huff of effort and tried again, but nothing happened. She was tempted to use her powers as a 'Kaleid Liner', she even had Shirou's permission, but decided against using it for something so trivial. With a second huff, though this one of defeat, she handed the stick back to her brother. "Why couldn't I break it?" She asked, ignorant of almost all normal Magecraft. She was a bit knowledgeable of her brother's Projection, but that's only whenever he goes on tangents about it.

"That was Reinforcement Magecraft. It works by filling an object with Magical Energy and raising its effectiveness." He explained, getting into a lecturing pose. "The first step is to use Structural Analysis, which gives you an object's structure and design. It's like getting the blueprint of an object. I'll teach you Structural Analysis later, this is just the demonstration."

Miyu nodded along, understanding her brother's explanation easily. He had a lot of experience teaching her, now that she thought about it. "What's the second step?" She asked enthusiastically. Despite the fact that she didn't pay much attention in class, she loved learning new things. But she didn't learn anything new from her classes.

"The second step is actually reinforcing the object. With Structural Grasp, you can find the 'holes' in an object. And by filling those 'holes' with Magical Energy, you reinforce the object. Keep in mind that you're not adding anything new to the object, you're just adding on to what it can already do. Something sharp will become sharper. Something hard will become harder. Something bright will become brighter, and something heavy will become heavier. If you want to add something new to an object you would use Alteration. I'll get into that later, too." Shirou explained, setting aside the first branch and grabbing one of the longest branches in the pile. He started picking off the small twigs and branches, leaving it with a rougher shape. He set it down, and picked up one of the twigs he had.

"What are you doing, Onii-chan?" Miyu tilted her head cutely, watching as Shirou broke the twig in two.

"Reinforcement can do more than just strengthen an object. I'm showing you the second thing it can do, repair an object." He answered, holding the broken ends of the stick together. With a whisper of 'Trace on', more blue circuits crawled down to the wood in his hands. This time however, they pooled in the ends he was holding together. He made the pieces of the stick touch, and after a moment, the stick was whole again. "With Reinforcement, you can also fix something that is broken. Not everything can be fixed though, so don't expect to be able to reattach a person's leg with it or something. Not to mention the fact that living things tend to reject Magical Energy." He picked up the long stick again and held it out to the side. "And finally, Reinforcement can reshape an object to become more useful."

With a third chant of 'Trace on', blue circuits crawled out onto the stick a third time. Miyu watched as the stick in her brother's hands was reshaped into something else. The rough bark became flat and smooth, the stick became ramrod straight, and it became more evenly round, wider at the top than at the bottom. At the top of the branch was a crooked hook. When Shirou opened his eyes again, a thin wooden staff was in his hands. "This turned out better than I thought it would…" He muttered, turning it in his hand slightly. "Just to be clear, I didn't project this using the wood as materials. I simultaneously changed the shape of the wood and reinforced it to make it tougher. This isn't going to disappear when I stop filling it with my Od." Miyu nodded in understanding.

"What's Alteration?" Miyu asked suddenly, recalling what he mentioned earlier. Shirou was caught off guard with the sudden question, but still answered.

"Alteration is similar to Reinforcement in the fact that it changes the object, but instead of improving upon what it already has, you add foreign properties to it. It relies more on concepts than physical changes. For example," He began, dropping the staff and projecting a sword. After a deep breath, he breathed out 'Trace on' one last time. The sword in his hand changed form into something that more closely resembled an arrow. "With Reinforcement, I can change this sword into an arrow. But ultimately, it is still a 'sword'. Oddly shaped, but still a sword. With Alteration though…" He focused back on the 'sword', and Miyu could feel something change in it. Now, she felt more certain that it was an arrow, rather than a sword. "For now, let's focus on teaching you Structural Grasp and move up from there." Miyu nodded, and Shirou reached into his pocket to give her something to practice with. Before he could however, a sudden shout caught them by surprise.

"Ah, Miyu-chan!" A blonde foreigner girl about Miyu's age ran up to the pair, apparently recognizing the younger of the two. She wore a white dress covered in frills, and black ribbons. Shirou looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow, and Miyu smiled and waved at the newcomer. "And… a stranger with the same eyes as her?" Shiroi thought it was an odd thing to take note of.

"Lily, this is my older brother." Miyu explained, looking up to her older brother. "Onii-chan, this is Lily. She sits next to me in class, and we met at lunch a few days ago. She was out of the country when the school year started."

"Ah… It's nice to meet you… I'm Shirou." He greeted with a stare, slightly cautious of the girl. For some reason, she seemed familiar. It felt like she was someone he used to know, but too different to be the same person. He'd never met someone quite like her, so perhaps it was from EMIYA's memories? Or maybe one of his counterparts? It was on the tip of his tongue, he could just feel it. 'At this rate, I should just get a notepad and start writing down everything I need to think about.'

"I-It's nice to meet you too." Lily greeted, bowing slightly to the older sibling. "So… why are you two in the park?"

"I'm teaching Miyu how to use her Quirk. Well, mainly just giving her a few pointers and demonstrations." Shirou replied, stretching his arms over his head. He leaned back a bit, resting his back against the tree. "What about you? What brings you to the park?"

"Oh, I'm just running around Musutafu, exploring a bit. I've never really seen all that much of it, since I've never gotten the chance. My family travels a lot… Oh, but not this year! We're sticking around for a while, so I'm exploring as much as I can!" Lily replied, pumping her fist. "But I'm taking a break here, Musutafu is… a lot bigger than I imagined."

"Well… it is a city." Shirou joked, crossing his arms with a grin. "And it also happens to be the city with one of the most prestigious Hero Academies in the world, so…"

"Yeah, I know that now." Lily laughed embarrassedly, scratching the back of her head. After a moment, she sat down in the grass next to us. "Oh, I hope I'm not intruding on anything."

"I don't mind." Miyu replied, shaking her head. Shirou just shrugged, leaning back further and resting his head against the tree trunk. He let his eyes close a bit, listening to Miyu chat with her friend. He had been getting less and less sleep as of recently, and with the cool breeze and the shade, the conditions were almost optimal. Before he got the chance to doze off however, a loud voice jolted him awake.

"Oi, Lily! Why'd you run off like that!?" An annoyed voice asked, the sound of hurried footsteps following it.

"Ah, sorry Mo-chan! I saw one of my friends, so I rushed ahead without thinking!" Lily hurriedly replied. Shirou cracked an eye open, and found himself half-heartedly glaring at the newcomer.

She wore her equally blonde hair in a ponytail, the same way Lily did, though it had a more wild look and was tied up with a red scrunchie. She had the same green eyes as Lily, though they were shaped differently. She wore a red sleeveless hoodie and blue shorts, revealing her lean yet toned arms and legs. Shirou almost immediately recognized her. This was Mordred, the Knight of Treachery. Or at least, this world's version of him… or her? For a moment he thought that made Lily King Arthur, or at least King Artoria, but figured that couldn't be the case. Why would Artoria Pendragon, Mordred's father, be the same age as her? And according to Miyu, Lily had two older siblings. One male and one female. If her older sister was Morgan le Fay, who was her brother? And if she wasn't, then who was she? Was he just overthinking things?

While he pondered on thoughts like these, the other three just continued chatting. "A-Anyways, where did you live before you moved here, Miyu-chan?" Lily asked, hoping to change the topic.

"Oh, it was a small town named Fuyuki." Miyu replied, recalling what her brother told her about their old town. At Lily's unsure look, she continued. "It's between the Oita and Kumamoto Prefectures."

"Woah, that's nearly a thousand kilometers away." Mordred exclaimed, her eyes wide. While the worlds were different, they shared similar geography. So Shirou found out that their new city was somewhere near Shizuoka Prefecture. "Never heard of Fuyuki, though."

"We were a pretty closed off community in the first place, and there weren't a lot of people living there anyways." Shirou answered for her, inserting himself into the conversation. Mordred looked at him like he wasn't sitting there the entire time. "I don't think my highschool had more than thirty people in it, staff included, and there weren't enough children to keep the elementary school open. The few kids that were in the city were homeschooled, Miyu included."

"Woah, really? That sounds kind of like those villages in fantasy, where everyone is friends with everyone else."

"I guess, but I didn't know everyone. I only just learned that one of my close friends had an older brother before we moved, and he didn't leave the best impression on me. There were also a lot of random people I've only ever met in passing." He replied honestly. He didn't have the time to talk to strangers, he was too busy with school, practicing his Magecraft, or taking care of Miyu. Outside of fixing broken appliances with Julian and doing Kyudo with Sakura, he barely socialized with anyone other than his sister. That had changed since he arrived here, but overall he was still more of an introvert.

That was just another thing to add to the list of what made him different from his counterparts. He briefly wondered how said counterparts would handle the situation. The Idealist would probably do the same thing he did, but rationalize it differently. Maybe something along the lines of 'She's a little girl, not a Holy Grail. It's not her job to save the world.' The Dreamer would foolishly try to save everyone, not just Miyu.

The Selfish One would make most of the same choices he did, having chosen a similar path regarding his version of their kouhai. Heck, he'd probably even say the exact same thing to Julian that he did. He already knew EMIYA approved of his choice, considering the fact that he gave him the power to save Miyu in the first place. But that version of him even darker than EMIYA, the one who grew corrupted and modified Kanshou and Bakuya into Gunblades, he'd probably disagree with his un-altered self.

'Note to self: Stay the hell away from Sessyoin Kiara.'

As his mind returned from wherever it had drifted off, he realized that the topic had shifted to Quirks. Not like he didn't expect it, though. "Miyu-chan, your Quirk is super cool!" Lily exclaimed excitedly, pumping her fists. "I mean, you have shields, laser beams, super strength, and a magic wand! What else could you ever need!?" She continued passionately, getting uncomfortably close to the ravenette. Miyu didn't seem fazed by it though…

Shirou remembered that he still needed to teach her some otherwise common knowledge. Like personal space. And maybe what is and isn't socially acceptable in Japanese Society. He could already think of a few examples, mainly ones regarding their closeness. They were closer than most normal siblings, that much was obvious. But the world didn't need to know about the several times she snuck into his bed while he was asleep.

"Holy crap, really!?" Mordred shouted, her eyes bugging out in surprise. "That's like three Quirks rolled into one!"

"Ah, well… I can do more than that, actually." Miyu admitted, sheepishly averting her gaze. The other two gaped at that.

"She's practicing her capabilities for flight, but keeps trying to rationalize it with physics and ends up falling flat." Shirou elaborated, though the two less knowledgeable on vocabulary were having a hard time deciphering what he said. He simplified it. "She's trying to fly, but she's overthinking it and keeps screwing up." That got two nods of understanding.

"Wait, so the only thing that limits her Quirk…"

"Yeah, it's her imagination. If she can think of it, she can probably do it." Shirou answered.

"…Life isn't fair." Mordred sighed, falling onto her back.

"If it's any consolation, Miyu is probably the worst person who could've gotten this Quirk. She has no imagination. Whatsoever." Shirou chuckled a bit when Miyu got up to punch him in the arm, all the while pouting adorably. In response, he just patted her head. "Miyu, the first time Sapphire said you can fly, you just said 'People cannot fly' and stared at her like she was crazy. And when I showed you a video of someone flying, you started muttering with a horrified look on your face. All I managed to decipher was 'Aerodynamics', 'Inertia', 'Airplanes', and 'Lift'."

"…Not gonna lie, I didn't understand half of what you said." Mordred muttered, giving him a flat stare. "All I got out of that is she's too boring to think of anything creative."

"Mo-chan!" Lily chastised, elbowing the younger blonde in the side.

"Well… You're not completely wrong." Shirou admitted, getting another punch to the arm. "Miyu, you're so mean to your brother." He said with mock sadness, but still patting her head. She sat back down next to him. "Anyway, we've talked about Miyu's Quirk. What about yours?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I'll go first!" Mordred shouted, standing up with a hand raised in the air. After a moment, sparks of red electricity danced at her fingertips. "My Quirk's 'Red Thunder'! I can make red lightning at my fingers, and zap people! Pretty cool, right?"

"Actually, her electricity is only as strong as a joy buzzer up close, and at range it's no better than a strong laser pointer. The most she's ever done is burn a curtain." Lily admitted, giggling slightly at her cousin's betrayed expression. Before Mordred could complain, Lily cut her off and began explaining her Quirk. "Anyways, my Quirk's name is Photo… Photo… it's 'Photosynthesize'." She stumbled on the word a bit, and cleared her throat. "I-I can absorb heat and light, and use them to get stronger!"

"And what have you managed to do with your Quirk so far?" Shirou pressed on.

"Eh? Well… I've managed to lift a car wheel over my head after sitting in the sun for a bit… But I'll get better as I grow up!"

"Weren't you just making fun of me for my Quirk? And you can barely lift a car wheel with your Quirk?" Mordred asked, raising an eyebrow.

"C-Come on, Mo-chan! That thing was like ten kilograms!" She pouted, trying to defend her claims.

"Only ten? I can lift that much without a Quirk, why do you need yours to do it?" She asked smugly.

"W-Well that's because Mo-chan works out a lot, okay!? And besides, you're older than me!" Lily argued.

"Only by a year!" The older cousin shot back.

Shirou just sighed, letting the two argue about it while he fiddled with the staff he made earlier. Miyu just leaned up against him. About a minute of that passed, with the two blondes screaming at each other, until a massive fireball suddenly erupted a few blocks away. The two stopped, turning their attention to the massive explosion. Then Mordred grinned, and ran straight towards it. Lily followed right after her.

"Are they… running towards the danger?" Shirou asked incredulously, his eyes narrowing at the shrinking figures of their acquaintances.

"It would certainly seem so." Miyu replied, just as confused as her brother. What happened to their base survival instincts? After a moment, she stood up and dusted the dirt off her skirt. "Should we follow them?" She asked, a hint of concern in her otherwise neutral expression.

"…Eh, might as well. It'd give me a chance to see a 'Pro' in action." He shrugged, placing a hand on the ground and pushing himself up. The two began jogging in the general direction of the explosion, noticing that a lot of other people were doing the same thing. Again, what happened to humanity's base survival instincts? Because if they keep running straight into danger and treating it like a show, the future of mankind is bleak.

Eventually, they got to the source, and he could already hear the battle unfolding and people cheering. He pushed through the increasingly large crowd, Miyu holding onto his hand tightly so as to not get separated from him. When he got to the front of the group, he had to shield his eyes with his other arm, the bright light almost blinding him. There was a police barricade between the crowd and the battle, but it was still close enough to feel the heat.

He could identify four people. One was a guy in a black and white costume, with an insignia of a lightbulb on his chest. He also wore a white cape and white gloves. The second was a large… 'man', who looked to be made out of charred rock. He was covered in cracks, and what Shirou assumed to be magma flowed through them. They were probably the villains.

Opposite of them were two people. One wore a suit of armor over a dark bodysuit, not unlike a futuristic knight. The armor was white however, and there were pipes sticking out of his elbows. 'Ingenium, then.' Shirou knew of the hero, they met several times when he was out jogging. 'Surprisingly friendly.' He was dealing with the lightbulb villain. Shirou shook his head and looked at the other hero. He looked like a firefighter that had fused with a fire hydrant. Two hoses were in place of his hands, and a water cannon was slung over his back. He was dealing with the magma villain, dousing him with cold water. From what the crowd was screaming at him, he was 'Backdraft'.

The air was filled with steam and smoke, probably from all of Backdraft's water being boiled on contact with the magma villain. Shirou wondered what caused the explosion earlier, but when he saw the remains of an oil tanker in the middle of the street, he understood what went down. Really, the only question was why they were fighting in the first place. "Ah, Shirou-san!" A familiar voice called out.

"Lily?" He asked, turning to her. "I have a lot of questions, but… what's going on?"

"From what I've heard, that guy with the lightbulb on his chest tried snatching a cash register, and the lava guy stole some jewelry. They got cornered here by Ingenium and Backdraft, a bunch of people started crowding and recording everything, and the lava guy blew up an oil tanker in a panic. At first, the heroes were just going to send them to jail for theft, but now they're disturbing the peace and a lot of people got hurt. Then they started fighting. I don't know where the stuff they stole went." She explained, pointing at a few ambulances and police cars nearby as she explained.

'This is why you don't run towards danger.' Shirou thought bitterly, his eye twitching. "And why did you and Mordred run straight towards the fight?" He asked, raising the same eye's brow.

"Eh, well… we wanted to watch?" She replied hesitantly.

"Was that a question or an answer?"

"Both?"

Shirou just stared at her for a long time, before shaking his head and turning back to the fight. It wasn't his job to take care of them, he was busy enough with Miyu. "What are their Quirks?" Shirou asked, narrowing his eyes at the villains. Chances are, he could figure it out for himself. He'd save himself both the effort and the brain power if he just asked, though.

"Oh, the magma guy is made of charred rock, and can spew lava out of his hands. Not as hot as real lava though, according to what Ingenium said when he got hit by it. And the lightbulb guy can produce light from any hole in his body. Like his mouth, nose, or even just making a circle with his fingers." She further explained, putting her fingers together to make her point. "Every time Ingenium comes running close, the light guy uses his Quirk to blind him and dodge. And the magma is boiling Backdraft's water every time they come into contact. The Heroes called for reinforcements, but they won't be here for another few minutes."

"Alright then." Shirou replied, turning around.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Home. This is none of my business, and the heroes have it handled." He replied, pushing through the crowd. Miyu followed him, but managed to wave goodbye to Lily before she disappeared into the crowd.

She stared at where they went for a bit, then shrugged and turned back around. Not everyone liked watching heroes fight villains, though it's kind of weird at his disinterest in it. Most people who disliked watching heroes and villains fight were either averse to violence, or concerned about the damage. But he just didn't care.

Wait, what happened to that lightbulb villain? Why was he unconscious?

And why was a wrench lying next to him? Wait, where did it go? It just disappeared into blue light.

Shirou let out a deep sigh, eyes narrowing at the deep gashes in his arm, and the blades sticking out of them. While they were fighting another Class Card, specifically an Assassin, Miyu had tripped over something and left herself open to an attack from the Servant of Murder. He took the hit, but the result left him with half a dozen kunai sticking out of his arm. Immediately afterwards, he projected about a dozen low tier Noble Phantasms, broke them, and sent them flying at the Servant. Assassins weren't particularly famed for being durable, so it didn't escape the onslaught.

'No one threatens my little sister and gets away with it.'

He grabbed the first kunai sticking out of his arm, and with an almost muted hiss of pain escaping his lips, pulled it out.

Having six knives sticking out of his arm wasn't exactly a painless experience.

Immediately after, the inside of the wound turned silver, and it began to slowly stitch itself shut. Tossing the weapon to the side, it vanished into motes of light, not unlike when he dismissed his own weapons. He didn't have a clue as to why the weapons stuck around even after the Servant was defeated, and only disappeared after he took it out, but it certainly wasn't doing him any favors. At least he had some half decent regeneration, from both his Reality Marble's 'Sword Healing' and his nature as a Servant's imitation. What took most people days, weeks, or even months to fix, he could heal in hours. Sometimes even minutes if they're thin and shallow.

Never would he ever have to worry about papercuts again.

"Onii-chan, are you alright?" Miyu asked again, fussing over his wounds. Clearly, he was not. But there was no reason to tell Miyu that and make her worry even more. She was already muttering to herself about Healing Magecraft, or something like that. He hasn't even told her about Healing Magecraft, let alone taught her. Was it Sapphire?

"I won't say I'm fine, because I'm not, but I've definitely had worse." He admitted, taking out the second knife and tossing it to the ground. The result was the same as the one before it, the dagger disappeared and the wound turned grey. "Y'know, I didn't have any particular issues with the Fuuma clan before today, but my opinion of them has dropped as of recently. You go and seal the card, I'll deal with… these." He gestured to the four blades still in his arm. She looked at him a bit unsure, before eventually nodding and running off to collect the Class Card.

Repeating the process four more times, he was left with six stab wounds and bloody, torn clothes. With some Reinforcement, he fixed the latter problem, and with a roll of bandage, he fixed the former. They'd heal themselves up sooner or later without the bandages, but he could hear Kiritsugu chiding him if he just let them be. They'd probably scar though, most stitches do.

'How many does that make it now? I think it's somewhere in the two hundreds now.' Of course, he didn't just get these from the Grail War. He's had a lot of them since before he turned ten. Traveling around with a Mercenary to deal with Arms Dealers and Rogue Magi could do that to you. 'I still remember that one time Kiritsugu and I traveled to Sweden to deal with a Magus trying to curse Ikea furniture of all things.'

That entire thing felt like one long fever dream.

Shaking his head, he projected a few rags to clean the blood off, and rolled his sleeve back down when he was done. He flexed his fingers and bent his arm, a bit numb from the tightly wrapped bandages, but still fully functional. Just to make sure, he used a bit of Structural Analysis on himself. 'Hm… I lost… just under one liter of blood. It makes sense, considering that a couple of them hit my Radial and Ulnar arteries. Not that dangerous, but I should add more lemonade or orange juice to my diet, as well as fish and poultry. At least until I recover what I lost. No need for a hospital visit.'

He almost shuddered at how much an I.V. would cost. Sure, technology got better and Medicare was more accessible, but even a century later, I.V.s were still overpriced.

'Alright, what else… a mild sprain from Reinforcing my legs so suddenly, nothing that won't heal on its own… oh, my blood pressure went up a bit. Makes sense, that happens when you're bleeding. My body temperature is a couple degrees higher than it should be… Probably from Projecting all those weapons… Again, it's not really a cause for concern…'

Alright, everything checked out.

He sighed again as he stood up, brushing the dirt off his coat. "It's odd how an Assassin would show up in a parking garage of all things. It's not even abandoned." He muttered to himself, tapping his chin. "Sure, it's dark and there's a lot of cover, but it doesn't really feel like where a ninja would hide. At least Asterios was in a hedge maze, and Paracelsus wasn't that far from a Research Center."

"Well, the pillars and trees are somewhat similar." Miyu added, contributing to his muttering. "In a mobility sense, they're both tall pillars you can jump off of or hide behind."

"True, but wouldn't he just appear in a forest instead? There are still quite a lot in Japan." He reasoned, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe they were all already occupied?"

"And what's stopping two Cards from occupying the same space?" He asked, before pausing at the implications of such a thing. 'Oh Alaya, what would happen if we got two Servants at once?' A Caster who could bombard them with Magic and a Saber who could power through it with A-rank Magic Resistance, or maybe an Assassin who could sneak up behind them while they're focused on fending off a Berserker. It looked like Miyu was thinking about it, too. "I probably just jinxed us." He facepalmed, shaking his head. "Whatever, you sealed the card, right? Let's get out of here, before the distortion collapses."

"As you wish, Shirou-sama." Sapphire replied for her, and Miyu raised her up. A magic circle formed at their feet. A few seconds later, they were back in the real world, both returned to their casual clothing. It was really, really late at night. Or was it really early in the morning? Either way, it was a good thing it was a weekend. "Return successful."

Shirou let out a sigh, leaning heavily against a pillar. He noticed Miyu shift a bit, so he quickly reassured her. "I'm fine Miyu, just a bit lightheaded. I'll get better soon." She seemed to calm back down at that. "Regardless, I'm glad we're out of the Mirror World, and you are out of that outfit."

"Eh? Is there something wrong with it?" Miyu asked obliviously, twirling around to get a better look at herself while picturing it. Though Sapphire cut Shirou off before he could reply.

"I assure you, that outfit is a most innocent and wholesome form." She spoke concisely, causing Shirou's expression to deadpan.

"You and I… have very different definitions of 'wholesome'." He replied blandly, crossing his arms and shaking his head. He pushed himself off of the pillar he was leaning on, walking towards an exit with a slight wobble. "Let's just go home."

"Actually, Onii-chan?" Miyu interrupted, looking away awkwardly. He stopped, and turned around to look at her. "Can we stop by the beach first?"

"…I don't see why not, but what's the occasion?" He asked, stumbling a bit. They probably should be headed straight home, but a little lightheadedness or pain didn't stop him from winning a Grail War in a few hours. He could manage a detour. Still though, he didn't quite approve of Miyu being up so late at night.

"Well, I heard a rumor that someone's been cleaning up the beach we arrived at… and I would like to see the ocean again. I've heard that it's really pretty at night…" She admitted, rubbing her arm nervously.

"I don't mind. I've been meaning to check on my… experiments… for a while now." He shrugged, not realizing how ominous that sounded. "Let's go."

"Wha-Just like that?" Miyu asked, surprised at the sudden decision.

"Miyu, compared to how much I've spoiled you in the past, just staying up past your bedtime is nothing." He said blankly, before taking on a slight smirk. "I mean, I did let you skip school until after your tenth birthday. Most kids go to school when they turn six, some even start when they're four or five. And here you are, only starting school halfway into fifth grade."

"W-Well, that's only because I couldn't leave the house, and-" She tried to defend herself, but Shirou just waved her off with a laugh.

"I'm just teasing you, Miyu." He said between his chuckles, holding a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. Miyu's face flushed, before changing into an embarrassed pout and she began hitting his side. It was ineffective, she was small and weak, and that only made him laugh harder. "Alright, calm down. We won't get to the beach if you keep hitting me."

She finally relented, though she still seemed quite cross with him. She crossed her arms and turned away, huffing in annoyance. Shirou just thought it was adorable, and continued patting her head. She still seemed angry at him, what to do… He kneeled down, sweeping her off of her feet. "E-Eh? Onii-chan, what are you doing?"

"Well, we're going to Dagobah Beach, right? I just figured this would be the fastest way there." He smirked, letting Miyu wrap her arms around his neck. "Hold on tight, Miyu. And try not to scream." Just after saying that, he ran towards one of the many openings in the building, and jumped right over the guardrails. It was several stories higher than most other buildings of its kind, and they were on the third highest floor. So he was able to land on the rooftop of the adjacent building.

He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, watching the city lights below. Miyu was keeping quiet on her part, but clinging to her brother as closely as possible and holding her breath while they were airborne. For some reason, one of EMIYA's memories came into his mind. The Counter Guardian was carrying some figure in red over a city, soaring through the air.

A figure in red… probably the devil or something…

"Onii-chan, there's people there." Miyu said, though her voice was mostly muffled due to the winds rushing past them. He still heard her though, and they slid to a stop on a building closest to the sea. He looked around the beach, looking for the people Miyu mentioned. And after a moment-

"Ah, it's them again." He said to himself, though with Miyu so close, she heard it clearly.

"Who?"

"Just some buff American and a scrawny kid with curly green hair." He explained. "At least, I think he's American. His hair looks natural, but his English has an accent. They've been training here for a while now, probably since before we arrived."

"Buff American…" Miyu muttered, getting a closer look at the older male. "Is that… All Might?"

"I've seen him on advertisements all over the place, and heard my classmates talk about him all the time." Shirou commented, looking down at his sister. If she knew the name, then Lily or Mordred must've mentioned him. On one hand, Shirou was glad Miyu had friends with common interests. On the other, he wished they weren't so… quirky, no pun intended. He didn't need her to have any bad influences, and Mordred seemed like a tomboy who'd grow up into a delinquent. And while a tomboy Miyu did make for an interesting image, he didn't want his little sister to end up as a delinquent. "I'm guessing he's someone important, hearing how he punches people until they stop moving isn't exactly special information. Most heroes do that, anyways."

"Nn. He's the Symbol of Peace and the number one Pro Hero in Japan, All Might." Miyu clarified, earning a nod of understanding from Shirou. He didn't consistently keep track of the top ten heroes in Japan, but he knew some of them. He did a bit of research into Hawks after learning how the Hero Public Safety Association took him in at a young age. He was definitely fast enough to get a few nods of respect from some of the more agile Servants. And there were only two people who ranked higher than him.

Endeavor, who's solved the most cases out of all heroes (even though a lot of those were at the hands of Endeavor's agency, not Endeavor himself), and All Might, a man who single-handedly dropped crime rates down to a mere fraction of what they were prior. Not to mention how tall he was… Shirou knew of several Servants taller than even him, but most of them weren't even human.

It was hard to tell how much of All Might's placement was from his power alone, and how much was from his sheer charisma and fanbase, but there was no denying that he could stand against even some of the tougher servants. Of course, he'd lose to someone like Hercules. Even if All Might could kill him with his punches, Berserker would just revive with complete immunity to them. So All Might would lose his primary form of attack. Maybe he could take another life with some creative tactics, but he would still lose in the end.

Clearing his head, he turned his attention to the reason they came here. You could see the milky way every night with ease. Moonlight reflected off of the ocean, and with the moon and the stars high above, it made for a beautiful image. If you ignored the trash, of course.

Shirou felt a small smile tug at his lips, it's been a while since he's been able to stargaze like this. Miyu was clearly enjoying them, too. Maybe even more than the ones at home. After a bit, he felt Miyu fall slack in his arms. He immediately looked down at her, and chuckled lightly when he realized that she fell asleep. The fight with Assassin probably helped tire her out, though most of her exhaustion was likely due to how late it was in the first place.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why you don't let your children stay up too late at night.

He was about to return home so he could put her to bed, but stopped when he realized that the green kid from before was splitting up from All Might. He waved goodbye, and started running back home. All Might chuckled a bit, before… deflating? Before, he was a tall, muscular man. Now, he was more of a skeleton, with slender limbs and a sunken face. His clothes, which seemed to barely fit him before, were now draping over him. He coughed up blood into his hand, grimacing when he looked at it. It was the very same skeleton of a man he saw before.

Shirou knew he probably stumbled upon some kind of massive government secret. He'd like to curse his E-Rank luck, but his was probably higher than EMIYA's, considering the fact that he actually managed to save Miyu. So all he could do was shake his head and return home, Miyu in his arms.

He knew that if it came out that All Might was actually some scrawny guy, it would probably shake the foundation of this world. Villains would end up more daring, and try taking things even further. That ran the risk of danger to Miyu. So Shirou would keep his mouth shut. Not for All Might's sake, but for Miyu's.

It wasn't like he had anything to do with it anyways.

She was running as fast as she could. Her feet hurt whenever she stepped on a sharp pebble since she was barefoot, and she heard the bad people screaming at her from behind as they chased after her. But she kept running. She had to. Or else she'd end up back there.

She couldn't go back. If she did, then Chisaki would… she didn't even want to think about it. So she kept running. But she couldn't get away from the bad people, they were bigger and faster than her. She had to find a way to get away from them, before they caught her.

She took a right into an alleyway, crashing into a wall and pushing off of it to keep moving. The bad people were far enough away that she had no more than 15 seconds before they turned the corner. She turned to look at a large dumpster, mostly empty but still some trash bags in there. So without any hesitation, she climbed her way inside and hid.

It smelled awful, but she had to stay quiet. After a moment, she heard the bad men running past her. After a minute of complete silence, she let out a sob of relief. She got away.

She was free.

Alright, finally chapter four. I consider this to be a transition from the Prologue arc into the next one. So there's not a whole lot here, mostly just cute moments between Shirou and Miyu. Things are going to start picking up steam sometime soon.

Now, as for you Duality and Be a Chef readers. Like I said in the first A/N, I'm either going to pick off where I left off for Duality, or rewrite it again. As in, actual rewrite. Naofumi will be summoned to his world, just as usual, and after time has passed, he will be brought to Tortus. I'll set up a poll for which one you want to vote for, but here are the pros and cons of each.

Duality Pros: You don't have to start off from the beginning again.

We get right into the action, since we left off just before Hajime's Fall.

Cons: Probably no Raphtalia or Filo.

Basically just a carbon copy with Naofumi and a less edgy Hajime.

I had the Fate Series on the mind, so a bunch of random references are there.

Rewrite Pros: Raphtalia and Filo are coming along for the ride.

I'm not going to copy the plot straight and have a bit of divergence.

Cons: We're starting from the beginning again.

I'll post this into Be a Chef and Duality too. And for those of you that liked Be a Chef more than Duality, if there are any of you… sorry. But I can't really motivate myself into writing more chapters of that, since I'm literally just crapping on the keyboard and posting it to the story.

Edit: I changed the explanation for Alteration, since I learned a bit more about it in that time.