Fate: Hammer Time

by TedTheRabbit

Shirou Emiya wanted to become a hero. That was clear to all who truly know him. For a long time though, he lacked the power to actually achieve that goal. No longer. No longer will he lack the power, now that the Hammer of the Odinson has chosen him as new wielder. Prepare for Thunder. ShirouxMultiple, Thor-Shirou.

14. First Blood

First Blood

---

"Shinji. What is going on in your house?"

Shirou asked this question after cornering the blue-haired boy in an alley on his way home, going as far as to grab his shoulder to prevent him from getting away.

It might seem unusual for the redhead to act so aggressively towards his friend, but although Shirou regretted he had to do it, he nevertheless felt he no longer had a choice.

Ever since he had won the fight against the Phantasmal Beast in Iwakuni, the fight in which the Beast had suggested that Sakura might be abused at her home, Shirou had been paying much closer attention to Sakura, and Shinji as well, trying to get a picture of what things were like in the Matou-household.

At first sight, things seemed to be… alright. Not great by any means, but good enough. There were no obvious signs of abuse, and while both Sakura and Shinji had their issues, they did not seem to be suffering from any serious mental problems.

Still, the first sight was often wrong, or at least deceiving, and that went doubly so for Magi. That it didn't seem like Sakura and Shinji were being abused didn't mean that they really weren't, and Zouken really, really rubbed Shirou the wrong way.

So the redhead had opted for a harder approach, and part of that was the interrogation he was now subjecting Shinji to.

"Eh? What the hell do you mean, Emiya?"

Shinji clearly didn't appreciate it though, and glared right back at Shirou, annoyance and indignation prevalent in his voice.

"I mean exactly what I said. I want to know if everything is fine at your house, with Sakura and you."

"Of course it is." Shinji snarled, though he tensed ever so slightly. "Grandfather might not be the kindest person around, but he's alright… Why am I even explaining this to you? Mind your own business!"

"It's just that you both seem distinctively unhappy whenever you must go home." Shirou continued, not put off by his friend's behaviour. "So we were concerned about you."

"We?" Shinji narrowed his eyes, before shaking his head. "Never mind, I can take a guess. Well, let me set you all at ease, Emiya. Grandfather has never laid a hand on either of us, and if you're as smart as I always thought you were, you will stay out of this."

The words were spoken with anger, but there was also worry in there. Not for Shinji himself, as one might expect, but for Shirou. Shinji was actually worried for him, concerned about what Zouken might do when he realised Shirou was trying to meddle.

"Sakura and I will just have to last until he kicks the bucket." Shinji continued, almost spitting out the words. "After that, we're getting out of that place, so don't you worry Emiya. There is absolutely no need for you to play hero, not with us."

Shinji then knocked Shirou's hand off his shoulder and stormed off, leaving Shirou behind.

Rather than feeling reassured however, the redhead just felt even more concerned. Shinji's reaction had not been that of a happy man, and it was likely that everything the blue-haired boy had just said was nothing more than an attempt to get Shirou off his back.

It would seem more investigation was required.

Once he returned home, Shirou immediately went to the kitchen. It had been a long day, and he needed to relax for a bit, not to mention that he had hungry guests coming over soon.

Taiga indeed arrived quickly enough, but Sakura, contrary to all expectations, didn't show up until dinner had already started, looking far more subdued than she normally did, refusing to meet his eyes.

It wasn't hard to guess why. Shinji was not known for his ability to keep a secret, so he probably had told Sakura of the conversation he'd had with Shirou immediately after coming home.

Shirou wasn't sure whether the plum-haired girl was worried, insulted, or indignant, but whichever it was, she was now avoiding his eyes as much as she could and refused to talk to him for longer than a single sentence.

He better set it right immediately.

"Excuse us, Fuji-nee." He said to Taiga when she began eating, before lifting Sakura in a bridal carry. "We'll be right back."

"Senpai?!"

Ignoring Sakura's squeaked protests, he quickly carried her to his room, ignoring Taiga's strange comment to 'have fun'.

"I suppose we should get this over with." He sighed as he let Sakura down again after reaching his room, before blinking in surprise when she scurried back, her face so red a tomato would have been jealous.

"S-S-Senpai!" She squeaked, rapidly waving her hands in front of her, looking from him to his futon and back. "W-We can't j-j-just d-do t-that! W-What ab-about A-Ayako?"

"I think Ayako would completely agree." Shirou told her sternly. "In fact, were she here, she would undoubtedly join me right away."

Sakura's face somehow got even redder, her mouth falling open in shock, but Shirou paid it no mind, instead addressing the elephant in the room.

"Sakura, I am sorry for going behind your back and talking with Shinji about your home-life. It was improper of me, and I will ask you directly now. Is your grandfather abusing you?"

Sakura froze at the question, blinking owlishly for a few moments, before realisation hit her.

"O-oh, s-so that's what you meant. I-I thought…" She whispered, still blushing madly, before she shook it off, her voice becoming monotone. "Grandfather has not laid a hand on either of us. Thank you for worrying, but there's no need to, Senpai."

"Are you sure?" Shirou frowned at the very rehearsed-sounding statement.

"Yes, Senpai." Sakura nodded, still talking in a monotone. "I am completely sure."

Shirou's frown didn't lift, which prompted Sakura to continue, a frantic edge entering her voice.

"I mean it, Senpai. You don't have to worry about us, Nii-san and I are getting by just fine, honestly."

"You can come to me for help, you know? I won't judge you for anything-"

"SHIROU!" Sakura suddenly yelled, silencing him more effectively than if she'd suddenly taken a swing at him. "There is no need for you to do anything! We are fine at home! Please, LET! IT! GO!"

"…"

It was literally the first time ever Shirou had heard Sakura raise her voice in anger, the first time ever that her face had been contorted in rage, and he was dumbfounded at the sight, unable to say a word in return, as he realised he had messed up.

Sakura was openly crying now, tears streaming over her cheeks as she desperately whispered apologies to him, and the knowledge that it had been him who had made her cry hit him like a punch to the gut.

Unable to stand the sight, he promptly took her into a hug, embracing her strongly, as if to squeeze the sadness out of her. She tensed up at first, but it took less than two seconds for her to relax again, snuggling into his chest.

His attempt at consoling her seemed to be working, and Shirou swore that if Taiga would barge in now to interrupt them and ruin the moment, he would bodily throw her out of the house.

"I am sorry." Shirou eventually began, slightly loosening his hold on her. "I should not have asked such… insensitive questions. It's just that… Zouken feels so wrong to me."

"I know." Sakura mumbled into his chest, so soft as to almost be inaudible, before she pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Grandfather… isn't the best, but Nii-san and I will manage, Senpai."

Shirou studied her for a moment, but she gave him such a serene and beautiful smile that he couldn't do anything but accept her words. So with reluctance, he let the matter drop.

This was by no means over though. He would keep his distance from now on, but he would still be watching Zouken like a hawk. Any overt sign of abuse would not end well for the Worm.

Having reconciled, Shirou and Sakura went back to the breakfast table, Sakura keeping a firm hold of his arm the entire way.

When they got back to the dining room, instead of the expected teasing, they got a suspicious stare from Taiga, whose eyes immediately locked onto the tear trails on Sakura's face before they turned towards Shirou.

She didn't say anything, no doubt assuaged by Sakura's blinding smile, but Shirou knew that matter was nowhere near over either. He would probably have to explain himself soon.

As they ate breakfast, Sakura once more in a good mood, Shirou happily played along, even as he was already making plans to continue investigating Zouken.

He would just have to be more subtle about it next time.

Additionally, he would have to visit Inuyama, the next city on his list, to search for clues about the Magi.

His schedule sure was getting full.

---

The following evening, Shirou found himself in Inuyama, busily searching the large city for any clues relating to his nemeses, though so far, without success.

On the upside, he'd also not found anything that suggested there were any Dead Apostles or Phantasmal Beasts around. He'd had his fill of that kind of creatures over the past months, and he would prefer it if he didn't find any more of them until the matter of the Magi was over with.

On a related note, his crime-fighting went very well. Tracking down the gangs was easy, taking them down even easier, and the police in Inuyama were capable and quick to react.

Something was wrong though. There was a certain air about Inuyama, suggesting there was something weird going on. Not supernatural-weird, but more normal-weird.

The people in the run-down districts, where the majority of the gangs were located, were clearly very afraid of something, if their skittish behaviour and absolute refusal to step outside after dark were any indication.

The police never moved unless in groups of at least four men, preferably more, always armed and always watchful. They were also unusually fast in calling reinforcements for every problem they encountered.

The most obvious clue something was wrong though was the behaviour of the criminals.

To put it shortly, they were terrified. Absolutely, completely terrified. Terrified to the point that they behaved more like skittish mice than hardened thugs. Every moving shadow made them jump, and though they still performed their criminal duties, their hearts clearly weren't in it.

One would think at this point that criminals with such dispositions would be easy for Shirou to scare, that it would be a simple matter to obtain information from them, but one would be wrong to think that.

The criminals completely stonewalled Shirou, not saying a single word during interrogations, not even to insult him.

Ultimately, Shirou realised that they weren't scared of him. They were scared of their masters, to the point where even Shirou's most intimidating behaviour wasn't enough to faze them.

Shirou didn't like that. He didn't like it one tiny bit. He had a pretty good idea of what was necessary to make people so afraid, and it often involved immense amounts of cruelty and violence.

He had to find the leaders of these criminals as soon as possible.

So after taking down another gang, Shirou grabbed one of the more important-looking members by his throat, lifting him into the air in a display of strength, and tried to interrogate him.

"Where are your leaders?" Shirou asked him in a low voice, which, combined with his mask, made him seem a lot older and scarier than he actually was. "What are their names?"

The man, while clearly terrified of Shirou, merely shook his head in response. No matter how afraid he was of Rakurai, he was still far more scared of his boss.

Shirou had a trick up his sleeve though, and he didn't hesitate to use it.

"I'll ask again. Where are your leaders?" He repeated, his voice now laced with Magical Energy, deep and reverberating. "What are their names?"

This time, the man answered.

"T-They are holed up, at the docks." He choked out, prompting Shirou to loosen his hold slightly in order to let him breathe. "Don't know their names, don't think anyone knows their real names."

"What are they doing at the docks?" Shirou continued, letting the man down now that he was firmly under his thrall.

"Don't know." The man coughed out, rubbing his abused throat. "They never told us what they're doing there. Only that we must never go there and never mention their presence there either if we don't want to get killed."

"Have you ever spoken with your leaders? Or seen them at least?" Shirou pressed, leaving the subject of the docks for what it was. The man's face took on a thoughtful expression, before he snapped his fingers in realisation.

"Yes, yes I have. I saw one of them once." He told Shirou, looking happy at his own usefulness. "I believe it was the big boss even. Let me tell you, that guy is scary. He has this demon mask on, like, permanently, and he acts every bit the part of his disguise. His voice too, man, his voice. It's cold, inhuman even. He's not a man you want to mess with, that's for sure."

Shirou stored the information away for future use, before preparing to knock out the man with a quick blow to the forehead.

Before he could strike however, the man continued talking, the hopeful tone in his voice and expectant glint in his eyes momentarily stopping Shirou.

"You're going after the bastard and his flunkies, aren't you?" He asked, grinning widely. "I hope you'll kill 'em dead. They killed far too many of my buddies, they deserve every bit of pain you're gonna bring them."

Shirou took a moment to contemplate this, before he gave a curt nod and swung his fist.

Once more phone call to the police later, he was out of there and on to the next part of his mission.

He now had a lead to the big shots in town, who were apparently hiding at the docks. If anyone here had any information about the Magi, it'd most likely be them.

Unfortunately, storming the docks right now would do nothing but make them go into hiding. The docks of Inuyama were huge, stretching for many kilometres along the coast and further inland too, holding hundreds, if not thousands of buildings of all kinds, making it a veritable maze.

Shirou wouldn't be surprised if many of those buildings went on underground as well, further enlarging the area he would have to search.

No, if he wanted to get this right, he would have to be subtle first, gather information, make a plan. Then, when he was as prepared as could be, he would barge in and hopefully take out all the leaders and collapse Inuyama's entire underworld in one fell swoop.

Now, one didn't get a reputation like those leaders from remaining in hiding all the time, so it was likely that they appeared in public every so often, if only to make some grand gesture to re-establish dominance over their gangs. As such, there should be plenty of gang-members around that had at least some information about them.

He should sniff around for a bit, see if there were any criminals with more knowledge, and work his way up from there.

His sniffing paid off quite nicely, as by the end of the night, Shirou had established that there were no less than eleven big leaders in total, ruling Inuyama's underworld. One of them, the one with the demon-mask, going by the name of 'Oni', was the big boss, the other ten were his lieutenants.

Soon after he'd discovered that though, the dawn forced him to retreat, as he had to be present at home lest he worry Sakura.

Even if it might be a bit inconvenient now, he could only look upon those visits with fondness. Sakura came over to his house every day, and he truly appreciated that. She was an amazing friend and he would always be happy to have her in his home.

Even more so now that he had almost lost her. The fact that she could just as well have walked away after realising he had been going behind her back was truly terrible to contemplate. To think that he had almost ruined their friendship...

So he now appreciated her coming more than ever, simply happy that she still wanted to be his friend.

She was, after all, an amazing person.

---

Many people would be quick to describe Matou Shinji as a rash individual, someone who never thought things through, and they would be right to think that.

Those same people would be astonished however to find he was deep in thought at the moment.

He had been doing that more and more recently, thinking, reflecting on his own life.

Shinji hadn't been a very good person, and he knew it. He knew that if people looked back on the things he had done, they would find him wanting. No, they would find that he was a plain evil man.

He wasn't even talking about the little things when he said that. He might have led a few girls on, mocked the hard work of others behind their backs, and generally boasted about himself too much, but that would merely make him a bit of a prick.

No, his crime, his biggest misdeed, the one thing he truly deserved to be damned to hell for, was what he had been doing, and was still doing, to his adopted little sister.

When Sakura had entered his life, Shinji had at first warmly accepted her. He could remember the afternoons he'd spent with her, playing every game they could think of, consoling her about her family not wanting to talk to her anymore, and telling her every story he knew, all with Shinji's father watching them with a smile.

It had all changed however, when he had discovered the girl's purpose in the household. She was to become the heir of the Matou, a role that had always been denied to him. Upon this discovery, he had confronted his father about it. Shinji didn't know what he had expected from the man, but certainly not that he would turn his head away, claiming that he had no more time for a failure when there was an actual heir to be trained.

Shinji was ashamed to admit he had hated Sakura at that moment, and had subsequently refused to speak with her again, to even acknowledge her, to her obvious hurt and confusion.

That hatred had lasted until her first training, when she had screamed for three days and nights before falling silent, utterly spend and nigh-broken.

Zouken had left her on the ground after that, so Shinji had wrapped her up in a blanket and gotten her to bed. Unsure of what to do however, he had left right after. A cowardly act that still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Still, she had thanked him, professed gratitude that he hadn't abandoned her.

What a joke!

That bad taste turned to ash when he had gotten the order to rape her, an order given by the creature that was masquerading as their grandfather. That was the moment that the thing ceased to be human in his eyes. He didn't have a grandfather and neither did Sakura. They merely had a jailer and torturer.

Why had he ever wanted to become a Magus anyway? His sister was suffering, his mother had been executed, his uncle died in a glorified slaughter, his 'father' had been a blasted coward, and his grandfather was some creature living in a wormpit. What about that life had beckoned him so much exactly?

He had seen Sakura waste away in the household as a result of being the heir, while he stood on the sidelines, wallowing in guilt yet too cowardly to act, fearful of angering Zouken.

Which was why Emiya had been such a blessing, both for Sakura and Shinji. He was the only reason Sakura was still holding on after all. He was, for all intents and purposes, her guiding light.

Emiya was doing what Shinji should have done all along, but was too scared to, and Shinji resented and appreciated him for it in equal measure.

Strange really, how he had such conflicting emotions about everyone he was close with.

Except Zouken, that man he just hated.

Oh, and his father, but who cared about that guy?

Emiya had been a great source of support and love for Sakura and could be even more if he got his head out of his ass and saw just how much Sakura adored him, but Shinji knew very well that she couldn't get too close to Emiya.

That guy would never accept Sakura's situation. He would immediately try to help her, and he would surely die in the attempt, as he couldn't hope to fight a Magus and win.

Which was why Shinji had nearly gotten an aneurysm when Emiya had suddenly approached him with questions about Zouken.

He had bluntly dismissed Emiya's concern, and had enlisted Sakura's help to do the same. If they worked together, they should be able to get that redheaded fool to back off before he got himself hurt.

In the end, Emiya didn't belong in the Moonlit World. He was a guy that wore his heart on his sleeve, who wanted nothing more than to help people and look damn attractive while doing so. No wonder Mitsuzuri was so quick to fall for him. Not that he expected Tohsaka to last all that long either.

Really, who did Emiya think he was?

A goddamn hero or something?

---

Chasing down the leaders of Inuyama's underworld turned out to be a lot more difficult that Shirou had expected.

Though many criminals throughout the city had met at least one of those leaders on several occasions, none of them could tell him where they were hiding, or what they did on an average day. The eleven leaders were shrouded in shadows and secrets, excessively so, and Shirou wondered why that was.

Was it simply a matter of not wanting to share profits? Was it paranoia? Were they perhaps doing something so dark and vile that even the average criminal wouldn't stand for it?

Shirou didn't know, and neither did any of the criminals he'd interrogated so far.

He had held off on foraging into the docks for as long as he could, not wanting to spook the criminals there before he could take them all down in one blow, but the sheer lack of information had forced his hand.

Which was why he was currently standing on top of one of the buildings deep into the docks, barely a hundred metres away from the sea, searching for suspicious activities or shady people.

Standing there, looking out over his surroundings, Shiro once more realised just how big the docks truly were. They stretched out for kilometres in every direction, and even now, in the middle of the night, countless dockworkers were still scurrying around, just trying to do their jobs, most of them uninvolved in anything illegal.

He wanted to find eleven people without any information or any leads in this mess?

Not a chance.

Annoying, but not an insurmountable obstacle. As his father had said, if you can't tackle the entire problem at once, chop it into little pieces that you can handle, before returning to the big picture.

If the stooges he caught every night couldn't lead him towards the leaders, then perhaps he instead needed to ask him about people who could.

The people he caught were the lowest of the low, simple mooks, who knew nothing. What they did probably know however was the identity of the gang-members one rank above them. Those small bosses probably also knew who the person one rank above them was, and those bosses in turn knew who their direct superiors were.

He would continue like that, until he had climbed the ladder all the way towards Oni himself.

After all, if these bosses where as effective and feared as he'd been led to believe, then they needed to be very active, which meant there had to be a trail he could follow. There had to be people who had to organise everything, people that passed on messages, people that were responsible for the finances.

No big organisation could exist without paperwork after all.

And paperwork always left trails.

---

Ayako was not the kind of person who let things simmer until they blew up. She was more of a confrontational kind of girl, always straightforward, who wanted to settle conflicts immediately. She wasn't subtle, she wasn't someone who let things lie for as long as she could in order to avoid dealing with it.

She was a woman of action.

Which made it very vexing for the brunette to have her friends act so secretive! They wouldn't even tell her what was wrong. She would have understood if they acted like that to strangers, but to their very own Ayako?

Ridiculous.

It all started with Shirou, who had been acting more and more distracted lately. The change was subtle, and she would have missed it completely had she not gotten to know him very well over the last months, but Shirou was... tense, more than usual.

He had eventually confided in her (just her!) that the root of his problems was the Matou-household, and Matou Zouken in particular. He didn't trust the old man at all, and he was worried that Sakura and Shinji might be abused by him.

He had been going around, trying to find out if his distrust was justified or merely a product of paranoia, and he had promised to keep her informed of his findings.

Later though, Ayako had stumbled upon Shinji, who had grumbled to himself about being questioned by stupid red-haired hero-wannabes while walking home.

There was only one person who fit that description and could irritate Shinji like that, so naturally, she had decided to question him too.

"What did Shirou do?" Ayako asked Shinji, who was momentarily caught off guard by her sudden appearance, before he scoffed, a half-amused, half-pained look coming to his face.

"It's none of your business." He huffed, trying to turn away. Upon receiving Ayako's patented glare however, he relented. "Fine. He was poking his nose where it doesn't belong and I told him off. Happy now?"

"Was that everything that happened?" Ayako nevertheless continued, feeling that wasn't the whole story.

"…No." He admitted after a moment or two. "I might have also told Sakura about what transpired between Emiya and me. What she is going to do with that information is really none of my business though. Now get out of my way."

With a shove, he made his way past Ayako, walking away brusquely.

Ayako didn't pay attention to him anymore though. She was too busy feeling indignant.

Shirou had interrogated Shinji and hadn't told her. Sakura knew about it and hadn't told her either. They had kept the whole matter quiet from her!

That couldn't stand. They couldn't just keep her out of important things like this. They weren't supposed to keep things from their girlfrien-from their friend!

Filled with righteous indignation, Ayako angrily made her way towards Emiya-estate in order to confront them.

Reaching the house, she kicked in the door, before stomping over to the dining room, where she found three pair of eyes looking at her in surprise and shock.

"You two." She said sternly, pointing at Sakura and Shirou, who automatically pointed to themselves. "Yes, you. With me. Now!"

Not even waiting for an answer, she marched towards them, giving a short apologetic look towards Fujimura-Sensei, who wasn't even looking surprised, before she grabbed both of her love- friends by their upper arms and pulled them along.

"The mornings here aren't what they used to be." She heard Fujimura-Sensei idly comment back in the dining room.

Almost throwing them into Shirou's room, Ayako resolutely closed the door behind her, turning around to see Shirou and Sakura stand there, the boy looking like he didn't have a clue as to why they were there while Sakura was completely red.

That look almost caused another blush to come to Ayako's face, before she pushed it down, as that wasn't why she was here, yet.

Besides, she still hadn't decided if she wanted to share, so Sakura shouldn't get ahead of herself. They were only standing in Shirou's bedroom because they needed to talk, not because of… certain other reasons.

"What is going on?" Ayako demanded. "I suddenly hear from Shinji that Shirou interrogated him. You didn't tell me you were going to do that."

Shirou flinched slightly at the accusation, but the brunette didn't give him any time to explain himself.

"And then Shinji tells me he passed that on to Sakura, who also made no mention of it to me, at all." She continued, and Sakura flinched as well. "And now you stand here, looking as if everything is perfectly fine. I don't like having things kept quiet from me. What is going on?"

Now, Ayako was very well aware that it could be absolutely none of her business, but that didn't stop her from being concerned. Both for her friends, who were apparently dealing with a lot of difficult stuff, and for herself, that she was left out and would perhaps be left behind.

"Nothing is going on between us anymore, Ayako." Shirou spoke up quickly. "I did speak with Shinji and later Sakura, but it was just a misunderstanding on my part."

"I-Indeed." Sakura perked up. "Nii-san told me about Senpai asking about our family-situation, but nothing is wrong at our house, really, so I told Senpai he shouldn't worry. Everything is fine."

Ayako bit her lip at Sakura's words, slightly turning her head to look at Shirou, who, standing behind Sakura and thus out of her sight, very lightly shook his head, as if to tell her everything was decidedly not as perfect as the younger Matou-sibling made it out to be.

"And why wasn't I informed of anything earlier?" She demanded. "I could have helped."

"Indeed you could, and we're sorry." Shirou admitted. "I just didn't want to come to you without proof of anything nefarious going on. After that, Shinji and Sakura both assured me everything was fine, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning. Again, my deepest apologies."

Sakura pretty much said the same, alongside another three apologies.

Ayako sighed deeply after the girl was done, before nodding in acceptance.

"Very well. I'll forgive you this time. Next time though, the first thing either of you will do if you ever have another argument is inform me as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Completely." Her friends chorused, before Sakura stepped forward and hugged Ayako tightly.

Since this was the first time Sakura had ever initiated a hug with her, Ayako could be forgiven for forgetting to hug back at first, though she quickly amended for that mistake.

"Alright then." The brunette proclaimed after Sakura let go again, entirely too soon in Ayako's opinion. "I hope you have some food for me as well, because I didn't eat breakfast before coming here."

"I'm sure there is plenty for us all." Shirou said with a smile, opening the door again. "If Fuji-nee didn't eat everything already."

Fortunately, it wasn't so, as there was still plenty of food left once they got back to the dining room, where Fujimura-Sensei took one look at them, before shaking her head and continuing on with her story about a talking sponge and his pet snail, picking up where she'd left off when Ayako had entered.

When they left for their respective schools however, Ayako hung back slightly longer alongside Shirou, telling Sakura to go ahead as she had lost her calculator somewhere and needed to find it first.

Once they were alone however, she turned towards Shirou with only one word:

"Explain."

And so he did, telling her about his suspicions concerning the Matou-household, how Zouken simply felt completely off to him, how Shinji and Sakura clearly feared the man, and how both had tried to dissuade him of looking into it any further.

After the whole tale, Ayako could only conclude one thing.

"They really don't want you involved, huh?"

Shirou wordlessly nodded, frowning heavily, before giving an idle smile.

"Not that I am going to listen of course." He winked, before his smile faded away again to make place for another frown. "Even if they might never forgive me for it."

"That's not the correct way to think about it." Ayako countered. "Of course they will forgive you. You are their friend, and I don't think either of them even remotely loves or even just likes Zouken."

"True, but I am going against their explicit wishes here." Shirou responded, before he shook his head. "But this is hardly the time to discuss this. You should be off; Sakura is waiting for you."

Ayako's eyes widened as she realised he was right. She couldn't leave her friend hanging now, after promising to catch up.

"ExcusemeImustbeoff" She rattled, sprinting away at full speed, hearing Shirou's faint chuckles chasing her as she went.

---

"I do not know where our leaders are, and I wouldn't know anyone who does either." The gang-boss told Shirou in an apologetic tone, looking crestfallen at his own lack of knowledge. "They like to keep things really close to the chest."

The man was yet another criminal whom Shirou had Hypnotised in his attempt to climb the ladder towards Oni, and unfortunately, yet another failure, despite the criminal being quite high on that ladder.

But while the man hadn't been able to give Shirou anything on Oni or the other ten leaders, he did have a whole lot of other information to share, which, when combined with the pieces Shirou had found before, went a long way towards completing the picture of what was going on in Inuyama.

And what a picture it was.

Apparently, the entire criminal underworld, from drug-dealing, assassinations, extortion, and bribery to smuggling, organised theft, loan sharks, and fraud, was under the complete control of Oni. Not only in Inuyama, but also in much of the surrounding area.

Oni himself was barely involved in running his 'empire' though, preferring to stay in the shadows and letting his ten direct underlings deal with the tedious business, while he indulged in his own little corner of the underworld, though what that corner involved, no one had been able to tell him yet.

All Shirou knew about Oni's business was that it involved some kind of smuggling; transporting cargo from Inuyama towards Singapore and many more far shadier ports.

Somehow, the man had kept his location a complete secret though, a secret only known to the ten lieutenants, who in turn had no fixed headquarters and just moved around so much no one could reliably locate them at any point in time.

That was how they'd escaped from law-enforcement so far, and neither the police nor Shirou had been able to break the pattern yet.

"But," The man in front of Shirou suddenly went on, looking as if a light had been turned on in his head. "If you really want to know, I have a friend, who has a friend, who swears that he knows the location of the next big drug-deal in the harbour. Don't know if he really knows, but if it's real, then one of the leaders is guaranteed to be present. They always are for such things."

"Really?" Shirou asked in surprise, getting a happy nod back from the man. "Then what is the name of this friend of yours, and where can I find him?"

The fact that the criminal happily gave him all the information he asked for, not even putting up a token resistance, was either an indication that Shirou's Hypnosis was insanely good, or that this 'friend' wasn't as much a friend as the word itself suggested.

People under Hypnosis were supposed to be reluctant to obey you, which resulted in having to literally spell out to them what you wanted done. In Shirou's case however, they happily volunteered the information, made sudden requests of him, and generally were as helpful as they could be, without needing any prompting.

Strange.

Regardless, a lead was a lead, despite the impossible way he had obtained it, so he would follow the trail towards this 'friend' and then to the friend of this friend and then onward to Oni.

How complicated.

---

The information was correct. This friend of the friend indeed knew the location of some big drug-deal, during which containers full of numerous kinds of drugs would be brought in by trucks, before being put on ships and transported towards China, India, and Europe.

The friend of the friend had even known which of the ten leaders would be present at the deal.

This particular leader called himself Tora, something that ticked Shirou off quite a bit.

Naming himself after one of the most dangerous predators in the Mundane World was understandable, especially when his superior went for something like 'Oni' as nickname, but it was his bad luck that had him name himself after Shirou's big sister.

'Tora' would find himself waking up in police custody with an extra big headache for this insult.

The gathering itself took place deep in the docks, at some shady corner of a harbour, at a small plaza surrounded by numerous buildings.

Shirou was currently standing on top of one of those buildings, looking on impassively as no less than sixty-five men gathered in the plaza, all of them armed and all of them extremely watchful of their surroundings.

Shirou had summoned a light dribble of rain some time before however, mixed with some light fog, ensuring that they couldn't see him even if they looked right at him.

Despite the rain and fog however, Shirou was able to spot the incoming trucks from miles away. Trucks that Shirou was pretty sure had no business being here at this time of night, on a plaza that didn't seem to have any purpose except to look discrete and uninteresting.

It was nevertheless a rather clever plot. Even at night, hundreds, if not thousands of trucks would be arriving in the docks, delivering or picking up all kinds of goods. A few more trucks wouldn't draw any attention from anyone.

The trucks arrived at the meeting point quickly, and every bit of doubt Shirou had about this being an illegal operation was discarded immediately upon seeing the enormous loads of white powder, pills, and needles that were unloaded after the hatches had been opened.

"Careful with those, you globs!" A voice suddenly shouted, cutting straight through the sound of the rain and the grunts of effort from the workers. "Just one of those truckloads is worth more than all of you earn together in ten years."

The owner of the voice was a man who had just stepped out of a fancy car, immediately taking charge of the operation. Even without that though, Shirou would have known who that man was.

The tiger mask was quite the give-away.

Not wasting any time, Shirou took action. He would first take down as many men as he could, before he would go for Tora's throat.

He rapidly jumped from rooftop to rooftop, carefully approaching the plaza, before he jumped down into an alley. Using the rain as a cover, he crossed the distance from the alley to the nearest truck unseen, sneaking towards the hatch, where four men were currently unloading the contents. He struck fast as lightning, and they went down without ever noticing him.

It went just as easily for the next three trucks, resulting in no less than sixteen men being down for the count already, without anyone having noticed him yet.

When he arrived at the fifth truck however, he made a mistake.

Once more, he counted four men unloading the contents, who were all promptly taken down before they could even process what was going on.

Shirou then focused his attention on the next truck.

"This shouldn't take all that long." He breathed, before he heard the tell-tale click of a gun behind him.

"Indeed it won't, punk."

'BANG'

Shirou was already moving before his ambusher, an apparent fifth worker in the truck, had gotten the first syllable out of his mouth, Reinforcing his legs and jumping to the side, already out of the bullet's way before the trigger had been pulled.

The next second, a flat-palm strike to the side of the head had the ambusher down for the count as well.

"What was that? Globs, go check that out! The rest of you, with me! We are leaving."

Hearing the voice of Tora shout orders at his underlings, Shirou swore under his breath. He'd gotten complacent, made a mistake, and now his target was fleeing. He'd have to be quick.

Shirou gave up on stealth, instead jumping at full speed out of the truck, seeing Tora and his three stooges making their way over to the fancy car.

All criminals present were charging at him now, even the ones previously working on unloading the trucks abandoning their work in order to take down the intruder.

"Most likely a rival." One of them called, assuming the role of leader for now. "He can't be the only one here, be on your guard and shoot that punk, right now!"

The ones in front raised their guns in order to take aim, but before they could, their mysterious assailant seemed to blur.

The impromptu leader watched with open mouth as his entire frontline fell to the ground, either unconscious or worse. An entire row of men taken down without an assailant in sight. The only things he knew that could achieve such a thing were…

"They got snipers!" He cried, cursing their watchers for their failure to pay attention. "Everyone, take cover now!"

Alas, his conflicting orders only created more chaos among his men, as they now had to worry about snipers, to take cover, and to shoot a punk that was nowhere in sight anymore.

In this hectic mess, Shirou had no trouble taking them all down, as many walked into each other, tripped over their own feet, ran away to hide behind slabs of concrete, spun in place looking for the snipers, and generally didn't know what they were doing. No one even bothered with him anymore, except the impromptu leader, who was still screaming his throat hoarse while pointing at Shirou.

That screaming fell silent though once Shirou knocked the last of his men to the ground. Only then did the man start fumbling with his own gun, while Shirou sprinted up to him. A punch to the gut sent the guy to dreamland.

Having dealt with his immediate opponents, Shirou blurred again, daring to go even faster than before since no one was looking at him anymore.

He caught up to Tora and his stooges right before they could enter the car, and he could only thank the Root that they had placed it so far away from the trucks, or they might have managed to escape before he was done with the others.

"You won't get me that easily." Tora hissed upon sighting the masked face of the vigilante. In one movement, with a quick look downwards, he pulled another gun from his belt, and aimed it straight at Rakurai...

Who wasn't standing in front of him anymore. Instead, Tora heard three bodies falling to the ground around him, before a fist smashed into his wrist, breaking it and making him cry out in pain, his gun falling to the ground.

The next moment, he was thrown backwards against his car, almost certainly spraining a muscle in his back, before he was grabbed by the throat.

As Tora gasped for breath, Shirou lifted him up, before throwing him down on the ground again.

"So you are Tora." He said, pinning the man down with his boot. "I've got some questions for you, and you are going to answer."

"Scum! I'll tell you where you can stuff your questions-"

"I'll say it again. I've got some questions, and you are going to answer." Shirou interrupted. "Where are your headquarters? What do you know about the other nine leaders? What do you know about Oni?"

Not even putting up a token-resistance against the Hypnosis, Tora promptly gave up Oni's location, rattling off an address that Shirou knew to be located in the Northern quadrant of the Docks.

"Oni is there most of the time." Tora said with absolutely certainty. "Except when he has to deal with something really important. The others are usually on the move, never staying in one place for long, except when we're at home. I can give you their home-addresses though, and their names."

"You know all of your co-workers, even when not on the job?"

"Of course." Tora huffed, looking affronted that Shirou had ever thought any different. "They are my friends, why wouldn't I know where they live and who they are?"

"Well, I don't think I have the time to find and deal with them all." Shirou mused out loud. "So why don't you stay here and wait for the police. Once they arrive, tell them everything you know, including all information about your friends, but nothing about Oni. He might have information I need, so leave him to me."

Tora nodded obediently, prompting Shirou to knock him out, adding some extra force to punish him for slighting Taiga. After that, he pulled out a burner phone to call the police.

After the call ended, he jumped back onto a rooftop again, before waiting patiently for the police to arrive.

He didn't have to wait long. They arrived within minutes, sirens and all, with more than ten cars and even a few trucks of their own.

From there on, everything went smoothly, as the officers hauled the criminals away while they marvelled over the enormous catch they had been handed.

One of them cracked a joke about taking one truck for themselves, but his female partner smacked him over the head before he had even finished his sentence.

"Just a little joke, puppy." He whined. "I would never steal, that's why I became a police-officer. I mean, just look at my madcap and you know that I am innocence itself."

The man exaggeratedly pulled his police-cap from his head, waving it around.

"Enough of this, Ethan." She woman snapped. "Continue waving that thing around and you'll hit someone. That would be assault."

"As if you don't engage in battery often enough." The man snorted, dodging another slap right after.

Smiling lightly at the byplay, Shirou decided the matter was in trustworthy hands. For tonight, he could retreat. It was after all almost time for Sakura to come around again.

He had truly stirred the hornet's nest with this last act. One of the leaders had been arrested and was set to reveal everything about the others as well. By tomorrow, the docks would be a hive of activity and panic, something he might be able to profit from.

But he could do no more tonight.

---

'This is not elegant at all.'

Tohsaka Rin was not a morning person. She never had been and never would be, and this morning was even worse, since she had foolishly remained awake until three in the morning in order to finish her research.

She hadn't meant to, but she had to get back on schedule. Those swimming lessons she was required to follow really ate into her free time, not to mention that the girls from her school kept dragging her along to go shopping or something.

Rin always tried to signal that she did not want to come, but everyone around her always seemed to ignore those signals, and she, being the school idol, could not use stronger tactics, lest she lose her perfectly crafted image. As the school-idol, she had to be perfect in every way, which meant saying 'no' to her fellow girls was out of the question.

Thankfully, she was still allowed to use as much force as she wanted when rejecting perverts and losers asking her out. Apparently, it didn't count if she used violence on those types.

Strange, but who was she to question such a convenient trait of Japanese culture?

Despite that little stroke of luck though, she was still without any way to prevent her 'friends' from dragging her along everywhere, wasting her precious time.

Which eventually culminated in her getting too little sleep, meaning she had to douse herself in ice-cold water in order to wake up completely. She should get that over with.

"KYAAAAAA!"

Glad that was over with. Now just some combing her hair, putting it in twin tails and putting on her clothes, perfectly neat, and she was presentable again. Enough to step outside, even though she felt as if she could fall asleep on her feet any moment.

Walking out her house, locking the door and checking the Wards, as she did every morning, Rin yawned one last time, before putting on her 'idol-smile' and making her way over to school. Her schedule was rather full today, and she could only pray to the Root that she would be free this afternoon, and not forced to go on another trip to a café for overpriced coffee.

Really, was it too much to ask for friends who could read between the lines? Who were able to acknowledge and accept that she didn't want to hang out every day? That she had better things to do than shopping, going to restaurants, and other expensive nonsense? Even her wallet was greatly suffering under this.

Just one friend of that kind, that was all she asked for.

"Oi, Tohsaka-san, wait up!"

Speak of the devil and she will appear. Rin's smile turned a tad bit more honest as she stopped and turned around, watching as Mitsuzuri quickly caught up to her, a wide smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

She was almost the perfect manifestation of what a good friend would look like to Rin. She was happy and exuberant, yes, but she was also intelligent, very adept at reading between the lines, and never dragged Rin anywhere she didn't want to go.

She seemed able to tell at a glance whether Rin was in the mood for something or not, and the black-haired girl could only be grateful for it. It was such a pity that they didn't go to the same school.

"Good-morning, Mitsuzuri-san." She responded warmly. "How are you?"

"I am well, thank you." The brunette replied chipperly, before leaning closer to Rin's face, a sharp look coming to her eyes as their noses almost touched. "Had a rough night I see?"

Rin huffed. That was one of the few downsides to being close to this girl. She was very perceptive, and Rin had a lot of trouble fooling her with the image that others seemed so eager to eat up. Why, her cheeks were turning red, that's how annoyed she was.

"Yes, I couldn't sleep." She eventually responded, leaning back from the inquisitive stare. "I was, uh…"

"Working until deep in the night?" Mitsuzuri suggested with a wince. "Yeah, me too. We are at the last months of middle school, almost done, but for some reason, the teachers think we need a lot of extra work."

"Ah yes, that was it exactly." Rin affirmed quickly. It was as good an excuse as she was going to get, and it did have a core of truth in it. She had indeed been working until deep in the night, just not on her homework, which she had finished after an hour.

"Now don't just stand there." Mitsuzuri suddenly proclaimed, grabbing Rin's shoulders, turning her around and pushing her forwards along the street. "Miss School-Idol can't be late, come on."

"Uh? Ah, yeah, yeah." Rin brought out, caught off guard by the girl's actions, though she really shouldn't have been. This was just like her. "I can walk by myself; you don't have to push."

"Alright." Mitsuzuri laughed, and the hands were removed from her shoulders, allowing Rin to walk by herself again.

"You looking forward to our trip to Hikone for the swimming-exam?" Mitsuzuri then asked, giving her another bright smile. "You are more than ready for it by the way, so don't worry about it."

"Worry?" Rin spluttered, pushing down the very real worry she felt about that exam. "I'm not worried, I've practiced more than enough."

"Yes, you have." The brunette nodded. "But there actually was something I wanted to ask about that. Apparently, we'll be expected to share rooms in Hikone, like, three or four people per hotel room. We are allowed to pick our own roommates, though if we don't, the instructors will split us up themselves."

"Roommates?" Rin blinked.

"Roommates." Mitsuzuri nodded.

Rin sucked in a breath at the news. They had to choose their own roommates or get assigned to a room with random people? Oh, that was bad. The other girls would probably start vying for her attention immediately once this got out, and then she would have the choice between listening to vapid gossip for an entire night or potentially sharing a room with creeps-

"So I was wondering." Mitsuzuri went on, snapping Rin's attention back at her. "If you perhaps wanted to bunk with Sakura and me?"

Rin's insides froze, though she gave no indication of this outwardly. Staying the same room as Mitsuzuri was no problem, but with Sa- Matou? That could become very awkward very fast.

On the other hand, awkwardness she could live with, better than with vapid nonsense or creepy behaviour, and she couldn't very well refuse her only true friend.

"Sure."

"Really? Awesome! That means we're set. Thanks, Tohsaka-chan."

"Chan?" Rin spluttered again, something she did way too often when in the presence of the brunette. "I hardly think-"

"Oh dear, here's where I have to leave you, Tohsaka-chan. Bye." Mitsuzuri grinned, waving at her as she broke out into a sprint, laughing all the way.

"You-" Rin began, but Mitsuzuri had already disappeared around a corner, only her laughter still audible. "You insufferable woman!"

Yes, Rin might like to tease other people, but she had almost no defence against being teased herself, something Mitsuzuri eagerly took advantage of.

Then again, some teasing was a small price to pay for Mitsuzuri's companionship. It was… nice, to have her as a friend.

Rin found that she, despite her still red cheeks and feelings of indignation, couldn't entirely suppress a smile at the thought of the exuberant girl.

How annoying.

---

Every criminal Shirou had interrogated so far had agreed on one simple fact: The leaders of Inuyama's underworld were all very dangerous, sadistic, and unpredictable, but none were as dangerous, sadistic, and unpredictable as Oni. The man was a psychopath, a monster, who had no compunction about killing people, often for no reason at all.

Where the ten lieutenants were still friends with each other and capable of recognising good work, Oni was friends with no one, only hated by all, yet kept the reins in hand through sheer brutality and bestial cunning. That was how he lived and that was how he thrived, having ruled for many years uncontested.

But now it was time to bring him down.

Flying over the docks of Inuyama, Shirou looked down at the chaos that he had unleashed. Everywhere he looked, he saw men being marched out in handcuffs, officers and SWAT-teams breaking down doors, and police cars and trucks driving around non-stop.

With the arrest of the leaders, no doubt enabled by Tora's information, the entire thing was collapsing like a house of cards.

All that remained now was Oni himself.

Arriving at Oni's headquarters, which turned out to be a massive warehouse, Shirou noticed a lot of activity both in- and outside of the building. From what he could see, Oni's underlings were preparing to flee.

As he watched, a large door opened, and several men came out, carrying torches to see in the dark of the night.

"Come on." One of the men called to the rest. "We have to get moving, Oni wants them out of here before the police arrives. Take the prettiest ones first."

"We know. Oni already said that twice." Another snarked back. "Well, these are without a doubt the prettiest, so let's get them into the trucks."

For a short moment, Shirou did not know what they were referring to. That confusion cleared up however, when two dozen girls emerged from the open doors, being forced to walk to the nearby trucks by the criminals.

Wearing nothing but rags, sometimes nothing more than underwear, the girls were shivering, either from the cold or from fear, though probably both. They were pale and gaunt, and all of them were wounded in some way.

Their age seemed to range from twelve to barely adulthood, with the little ones often being held by the older ones.

Most of the girls seemed completely despondent, but one of them was glaring around with a furious look in her eyes, looking as if she would have torn the men's throats out with her nails and teeth if it hadn't been for the guns they had hanging from their belts.

There was probably a whole lot more to note if he'd looked around a bit longer, but Shirou was done watching. He would put an end to this despicable display immediately.

There were twelve criminals in total, guarding the girls. The first one went down when Shirou slammed the man's head into the ground during his landing, the next two when he rose and struck them in the neck from behind. Another two when he picked up one of his previous victims and flung the body at the two, sending them head-first into the wall behind them.

It produced quite a bit of sound, alerting the others to his presence, but since none of them had their weapons out or the presence of mind to make hostages out of the girls, there wasn't anything they could do.

Five seconds later, it was over, and Shirou was the only one left conscious, if one forgot about the two dozen girls now blindly staring into the dark, some of them latching onto each other and others sinking to the ground in terror.

In an attempt to set them at ease, Shirou picked up every flashlight dropped by the criminals before passing them on to the oldest-looking girls. They all accepted them easily enough, and it served to settle the mood from panicked to extremely cautious of the violent stranger. None of them made an attempt to interact with him though, seemingly preferring to wait and see.

The last girl however, the one with the fierce look in her eyes, grabbed his arm when he handed her the flashlight.

Shirou did not resist her grip, even when the girl shone the flashlight directly into his face.

"…You are Rakurai." The girl breathed after a few seconds, apparently somehow recognising him, her fierce glare disappearing and making place for an expression of immense relief. "Have you come to save us?"

"I came to end the criminal underworld of this city." Shirou told her, using the deepest voice he could manage without sounding ridiculous. "That includes saving you."

"Thank God." The girl whispered, before she quickly starting walking around, whispering comforting words to the other girls, assuring them he was there to help. Eventually, she turned back to Shirou. "There are a lot more of us in there. Not only girls I mean, but also older woman and men and even animals."

"Why?"

"I don't know." The girl responded, tenderly hugging a very young girl, probably a few years younger than Sakura, who had started crying. The sight, and the knowledge of what the girls had probably gone through, sent a stab of pity and pain into Shirou's chest.

"Do you know someone named Oni?" He continued nevertheless, knowing he needed as much information as possible, before taking a step backwards when the girl shot up straight again, the younger girl still in her arms, her eyes now blazing in fury.

"Do I know him?" She hissed. "Of course we know that monster. In fact, no, forget what I said earlier, I do know why there are so many people and animals in there. It's for him! That guy gets his kicks out of abusing and torturing others. Women, men, animals, it doesn't matter to him. He is a demon, a beast in human skin!"

Shirou grimaced at the girl's words. That would explain why Oni had isolated himself like this. Even among criminals, there wouldn't be many who would accept their leader doing such things. Stopping the man as soon as possible just became even more important, but first, these girls needed to be safe.

Shirou promptly handed the fierce girl a baton that he had discretely Projected behind his back while she was distracted. He handed a few more of them to the other older girls, while also giving them the guns the criminals had been carrying.

"Try not to attract any attention." Shirou warned them. "Hide immediately and do not come out until the police arrives. They should be notified soon enough. If other criminals do come here, do not start a firefight unless there is no other choice. Guns do not make you invincible."

Far from it. In the hands of an untrained person, they were more of a liability.

"I think that was clear when you knocked twelve guys with guns around as if they were children." The fierce girl responded with an amused twinkle in her eyes. "Thanks for the rescue, now go deal with the rest. We can take care of ourselves from here."

Shirou looked at her for a few moments and then nodded, though not before casting a spell over them that would make them unnoticeable to everyone who did not already know where they were.

Not able to think of anything more to say or do, Shirou turned around and walked away, watching the girls over his shoulder until they were a good end away, hidden in an alley. He then entered the building and rounded a corner...

'CRACK'

Only then did he allow himself to lash out, striking the wall next to him with his full power, obliterating it with the sound of a thunder strike, before grabbing his head in his hands.

"Damn it all!" He hissed. "Damn it all to hell."

Idiot! Idiot! IDIOT! A stupid fool, that's what he was. He should have gone directly to the police with the information about Oni instead of holding it to himself! So what if there had been slightly more risk?! So what if he couldn't interrogate the man himself as a result?!

If he had told the police, or gone himself right away, he could have saved those girls earlier. He could have prevented others from being taken in the first place. He could have saved more people if he'd just acted faster.

But no, he absolutely had to take down Oni himself. What a damned fool he was.

Breathing heavily, Shirou heard shouting come from down the hallway, along with barked orders and footsteps coming closer.

Putting off the self-recriminating for now, Shirou released his head from his hands, before taking on a combat-stance. Gang-members were coming at him, attracted by the sound of him destroying that wall.

These people were the worst of the worst. With all the effort Oni had put into secluding himself, it was very likely that he had hand-picked these underlings based on their own depravity and cruel characters.

The girls outside... It had been clear that they had been violated more than once by these men, regardless of their age. If the fierce girl was to be believed, these men tortured others for fun, for laughs.

They were scum, and they would be treated as such.

The time of easy take-downs was over. The kid's gloves were coming off.

It was time for pain.

Murakami Iwane considered his current gig one of the best he'd ever had. Plenty of money, plenty of chances to increase his influence in the gang, and plenty of ways to get some pleasure.

Sure, he had to put up with his insanely creepy boss on a daily basis, at a constant risk of getting shot if something didn't go according to plan, but that was manageable.

The rewards far outweighed the risks. Fresh girls every day, plenty of money, lots of fun dog-fights, cat-fights and whatever-animal-you-can-think-of-fights, almost no work and you got to boss around others. What was not to like?

Well... This. This wasn't to like. Being beaten up by a vigilante was definitely a downside to this line of work.

When Oni had heard of Rakurai, he had laughed. He had laughed so hard that the windows seemed to shake from the sound. He had finished that laughter by an assurance to his men that Rakurai would die should he ever try to pull that shit in his base. The vigilante had been... well, just a source of amusement really.

The amusement started disappearing fast however once Tora had been caught in the middle of conducting the biggest drug-trade of the year. The amusement vanished completely once the police rode into the docks and started their purges, and Oni had to watch on as his life's work was dismantled in a single night.

And now, to top it all off, the vigilante himself had come to their building, and Murakami learned just how foolish he had been by not running for the hills when he had first heard of Rakurai's existence.

Because Rakurai was not a man. He was a wrathful demon.

Normal people couldn't move that fast, normal people weren't that strong, normal people couldn't dodge gunfire, and normal people sure as hell could not throw fully-grown men across an entire hallway.

Murakami had never been as afraid as he was now, yet despite that fear, he knew that running was not an option anymore. Rakurai would surely hunt him down if he ran. His only chance of survival lied in charging the demon and trying to take him down.

So charge he did, along with everyone else that had gathered here, in a desperate attempt to overwhelm the demon with their numbers and courage.

They failed miserably. After he saw two of his friends being thrown against the ceiling, another three being slammed into the wall, and another being rammed into the floor, Murakami knew that they had failed to even just slow the demon down. All they had done was serve themselves up for him, like an easy meal.

Now it was his turn to be mauled by the beast, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He had never known pain like he did the moment he felt his legs break by a sweep from Rakurai. Then it got worse as his arms were shattered as well. It was almost a relief when a fist struck his head, and everything went black...

Shirou watched with grim satisfaction as the last guard dropped to the ground. The man had charged at him with a crazed and desperate look in his eyes and had gotten his limbs broken in return, and Shirou did not feel guilty about it in the slighest.

With all the guards taken down, Shirou was free to search the building for captives, and before long, he arrived at some kind of 'cellblock', where numerous people had been locked up in cages.

They largely shied away from him when he walked in, but Shirou could still see that there were indeed all kinds of people and animals present, all of them hurt to some extent.

Squashing his anger at the sight, Shirou began opening their cells and cages, as well as breaking the chains some of the people were bound with. He fiddled with the locks, pretending to pick them open, while actually Reinforcing them to the point of soundlessly breaking.

It took a good long while, but eventually, everyone was free. The process was sped up by some of the freed prisoners finding keys on the unconscious guards, enabling them to help him.

After the last of them had been freed, Shirou once more found himself standing before an impromptu leader, the only one of the prisoners who dared approach him, a big burly black man, who introduced himself as Agil.

"Thanks a bunch for pulling our asses out of the fire." Agil began, while walking around making sure all children and wounded were taken care of. "Most of us had already given up hope."

"Don't mention it. I was far too late anyway." Shirou responded, unwilling to accept the gratitude while he had been failing these people for far too long.

Agil however just scoffed at that, before shaking his head, mumbling about 'young idealists'.

Then the large man took charge of the group, in the same way the fierce girl had done before, directing everyone to the exit.

"We all heard a very loud sound coming from down the hall a few minutes ago, attracting all guards towards it." Agil suddenly spoke to him again. "I suppose that was your doing? How many friends do you have here?"

"Friends?" Shirou asked in turn, before realising what the man meant. "Ah, I am alone actually."

"Alone?" Agil looked perplexed at hearing that, but Shirou didn't notice, as he was looking at the hallway leading further into the building.

"Are there more prisoners inside?" The redhead asked. "Do you know where they are?"

"Eh? Uh, I mean, yes." Agil replied, blinking a few times to regain his focus. "Yes, to both questions. Uhm, Chice will take this group outside, I'll accompany you to the others."

"Are you sure? This could get rather dangerous." Shirou warned him. "I'm not used to protecting people."

"Don't worry. From what I could see, you already defeated just about every guard in this place." Agil assured him. "It's just a matter of finding your way now."

"Very well. Let's go then."

The walk towards the other cellblock was quiet at first, neither man able to think of something to say, before Agil took the first step to initiate a conversation.

"Thank you for what you've done, Rakurai." He said warmly, making it clear he knew exactly who Shirou was. "We heard you have been working tirelessly to fight crime. That can't have been easy, or particularly rewarding, considering it made you a wanted man and all that."

"It is not a problem." Shirou shook his head. "This is only a disguise. I have a life outside of Rakurai as well."

"That is good to hear." Agil nodded, before he frowned. "But say, aren't you a little young to be a vigilante?"

"Yes." Shirou nodded, though he offered no further explanation. "Yes, I am."

"Well, considering you defeated sixty men on your own, it'll probably be fine." Agil muttered, recognising Shirou didn't want to talk about it. "Still, make sure you don't go too far. I'd hate to see you die or succumb to cynicism."

"So would I." Shirou sighed, thinking of how his father had ended up. "So would I."

"As long as we're on the same line." Agil still didn't seem satisfied, but the large man didn't press the issue, to Shirou's gratitude.

The two men arrived at the next cellblock soon after. Just like before, the people and animals inside the cages cowered as soon as the light from Agil's flashlight fell on them, but hope and relief bloomed when he and Shirou started freeing people.

It wasn't too long after that all were free and being led to the exit by Agil. They would join the other group as soon as they caught up.

"Rakurai!"

A sudden cry made Shirou freeze in place, and then he turned around towards the voice, seeing two girls running at him with panicked looks on their faces.

"Please, Oni took our friends away." One of them brought out. "Please get them back. He's going to kill them! You can't let that happen!"

"He takes some of us every day, but I think he's going to kill them for real." The other girl cried. "Please save them!"

"Oni took your friends?" Shirou asked, before grimacing when they nodded. "When?"

"A few hours ago." One of the girls cried. "Please, save them!"

"I will get them back." Shirou assured the girls. "You have my word."

Both girls were visibly relieved to hear that, and neither protested when Shirou sent them away to join the group again

"Take this phone." The redhead then whispered to Agil, handing him his burner phone. "Call the police as soon as you are outside."

"I will, and once they arrive, I will try to stall them for as long as I can, so you can get away."

"Thank you."

"No, Rakurai. Thank you."

Then Agil left, and Shirou continued on his way.

He reached Oni's personal quarters a few minutes later, and promptly kicked in the door, before stepping through into the room behind it.

Inside, he found exactly what he had been expecting.

The large chamber was styled like a fancy living room, with lush carpets, ebony desks, oaken tables, and comfortable-looking sofas everywhere.

To the side, there were other doors, one leading to a room with a very large and comfortable-looking bed, another leading to a small library, and again another presumably leading to the bathroom.

Shirou's focus however was on one of the aforementioned sofas.

In that sofa sat Oni, the gun in his hand pointed straight at Shirou, though the redhead wasn't intimidated, but rather happy that it wasn't aimed at the hostages instead.

Oni himself was wearing a loose bathrobe, nothing else, not even the infamous mask Shirou had heard so many people talk about. His face was clearly visible, as were his legs and bare feet.

Despite his undressed state though, the man fit the picture of ruthless gang boss better than any other criminal Shirou had ever encountered.

Oni was a large man, with long, black hair, a square jaw, black eyes, and the shadow of a beard on his chin. There were many scars all over his body, even one over his eye, and whatever parts of his skin were unmarred by scars were covered in tattoos instead. He wore an earring and a nose piercing, while his grin revealed crooked and yellow teeth.

It was almost stereotypical, yet the man made it work.

Shirou's gaze then shifted towards the girls, who were chained to a wall at the back of the room, clad only in their underwear, which to Shirou's rage was askew, indicating the small pieces of cloth had been pushed aside very recently. Their bodies were covered in bruises, especially their faces, and there were plenty of raw looking scabs too.

Both girls were currently looking at Shirou, and the hope he saw in their eyes only strengthened his resolve. Oni would find himself in prison before the night was over.

"At last, you are here." Oni then spoke up, his voice far too smooth for his rough exterior. "You know, I normally have a lot of patience for amusing people, but you crossed several lines tonight, and you crossed them far."

"You guaranteed my coming when you started your criminal career, Oni." Shirou bit out, not in the mood for grandstanding.

The man merely chuckled. "Please forgive me for not thinking of that all those years back. I should have known that after so many years of successful, uninterrupted crime, some kid would end it all for me. Such a shame you weren't around to warn me before I became a criminal, who knows how many people you could have saved, if only you had been born a bit sooner."

Shirou did not react to the obvious taunt. It would serve no purpose to get angry.

"I have to compliment you though, kid. You brought my entire empire down in, like, three weeks at most. The only other person who ever came close to ending me and my boys was that accursed hypnotiser, and even he took several months."

Shirou had to violently suppress any overt reaction to those words.

"He was funny, you know. Some Southern-European man, tanned skin and all, thinking he was the shit. He strutted around for months, hypnotising my men left and right, even trying his luck with me. I resisted though, only pretended to be under his influence. Man, that was a laugh alright. Heard so many of his secrets, such as his name being Allesandro Alva."

Shirou immediately committed the name to memory. By now, it was clear enough that Oni was talking about one of the Magi.

"Then, after he'd decided he'd had enough of me, that fucker tried to have me killed, to elevate some other gang." Oni sniffed, sounding honestly insulted. "As if our months together meant nothing to him. Well, I didn't fall for that, no sir. I beat every competitor Allesandro threw at me, like the pansies they were."

So Oni had actually lasted through the disposal-phase. That was certainly unique, the other bosses hadn't done nearly as well. Putting aside the fact that Oni's death would have been a blessing for this city and its surroundings, Shirou almost had to admire his grit if nothing else.

Still, why was the man so helpful to him?

"Why are you telling me this?" Shirou questioned, not used at all to such cooperation.

"Because I want you to take those bastards down. To fuck them up the ass like they almost fucked me." The scarred criminal laughed. "I am done for, but you can take my revenge for me."

"…" If there was ever a reason for Shirou not to hunt down the Magi, that might have been it.

"Never thought it would end like this though." Oni sighed, rubbing his face. "Still, I should thank you. Being taken down by the greatest vigilante in Japanese history is a great honour, and a good way to end my well-lived life."

"Well-lived?" Shirou spluttered, not believing his ears and breaking his composure for the first time. "You didn't live well at all! You abducted countless innocent people! You tortured and murdered them! Even your own men hate you!"

"Everyone hates me, sweetheart, that's the pleasure of being me." Oni smiled. "But I suppose I've said enough. Now, let me put this useless thing away."

And with that, he dropped the gun he had been holding, right on the ground, before Shirou's surprised eyes. The girls behind him started crying in relief when Oni raised his hands above his head, seemingly in surrender. Shirou however did not trust the smarmy smile at all.

"Are you giving up?"

"No." The man's grin widened when the girls fell silent again. "Just some false hope for the girls here. No, I think I need to motivate you, and what better way to motivate a hero than to make him fail to save two precious innocent girls. It's time for my last surprise and grand exit out of life. Do make sure to dodge, Rakurai, I can't have you dying now."

The next moment, the man pulled a grenade from his bathrobe. An actual, army-style grenade.

Both girls screamed in fear and Shirou's eyes widened in shock as Oni grabbed the pin of the grenade to pull it out, his deranged grin never wavering.

Shirou was on him the next instant, having Reinforced his entire body by reflex after seeing two people in mortal danger. To his immense relief, he was able to grab Oni before he could pull out the pin.

Shirou grabbed the hand that was about to pull out the pin and forced it away and into the air, holding it there. He also grabbed the forearm of the hand that held the grenade itself. He then lifted Oni's entire body from the sofa.

Twisting the man's arm, Shirou forced him to drop the grenade, which he immediately kicked to the other side of the room, after which he threw the criminal to the ground, hard.

Oni groaned in pain upon coming into contact with the floor, and Shirou straightened up again, assuming the matter to be over.

The next moment however, Oni rose again, now holding a new gun, pulled again from the bathrobe. He aimed the gun straight at the girls, a crazed look in his eyes. Oni's finger went to the trigger…

Then Shirou was on him again, trying to reach for the gun. Unfortunately for him, Oni was standing right between him and the girls, with his back to Shirou, meaning Shirou would have to force him aside or pass him by in order to grab the gun.

Shirou chose to pass him by, his eyes fixed on the weapon. He set his forearm against Oni's chest and pushed, forcing the man to bend backwards, while the other hand went for the gun, attempting to knock it out of the man's grasp, by breaking every bone in his arm if he had to.

Oni struggled against Shirou's arm though, trying to straighten his back again, prompting Shirou to push harder. Oni still refused to let go of the gun, and Shirou hooked his leg around Oni's legs to trip him up, before giving one last mighty push-

'CRACK'

For a moment, for a short, horrible moment, Shirou feared the gun had fired.

The next moment however, he saw that both girls were fine, if utterly terrified, and the gun wasn't smoking. It hadn't been fired after all.

He had only a few seconds to wonder what the sound had been, before Oni suddenly fell backwards, his body dropping to the ground in a way only the dead could.

Shirou's last shove against the man's chest, forcing his upper body backwards, coupled with his leg preventing Oni's lower body from following, had broken the man's spine.

Shirou had to stop himself from throwing up once he saw that the man had almost been folded in half, forming a 'V'-form with his body. His spine had to have shattered for that to be possible. There was no way Oni could have survived that.

Oni was dead.

He had just killed a person…. with his own hands….

He, Emiya Shirou, had just folded a man in half, accidentally, in a struggle for a gun.

Shirou stood frozen, looking down at his own arms. The arms he had just used to murder a man. He hadn't properly grasped the strength in those arms before, but-

"H-Help us!" A voice from the side then suddenly demanded.

Shirou immediately shoved his shock to the back of his mind, his expression going blank. He couldn't think about his own problems now, there were still people to save.

He wasted no time in freeing the girls, before setting them down in the sofas. He then healed their wounds, wiping away their maladies with the Mysterious Power.

Neither girl even gave him as much as a glance in return though. The younger girl was still crying her eyes out, while the older one was hugging her as strongly as she could, trying to set her at ease a bit, though without much success.

Shirou rose to his feet again once he had finished healing them, not making a sound, choosing to wait until they had regained their composure. It was important to let them set the tone of the conversation, to give them back some of the control that had been taken from them so cruelly.

Eventually, the girls let go of each other again.

"Are you going to be okay?" Shirou asked, looking from the one to the other and back, trying to look as professional as possible, though he felt anything but professional at the moment. "This can't have been easy, either… my actions or… what happened before."

"No." The older girl answered bluntly. "We are not going to be okay."

"Of course." Shirou mumbled, bowing his head. "That was a stupid question."

"How can we be okay?!" The girl demanded, her voice turning shrill and hysterical. "How can we be, after all this?!"

"I… I don't know." Shirou clenched his hands so hard that he almost lost feeling in them. "I don't know."

"Why weren't you here sooner?!" The girl was crying again now, tears streaming down her cheeks even as the younger girl tried to calm her down. "What took you so long?!"

"…" Shirou had no answer for her, no excuse to give.

"Damn you, Rakurai! Damn you!" The older girl screamed, before she began sobbing incoherently, the younger girl following her example soon after.

This wasn't going anywhere, so with a heavy heart, Shirou made eye-contact with both girls and Hypnotised them. He then quickly removed all memories of what had transpired in this room, making it seem like they had slept through it all instead, before letting the girls sink away into a deep and dreamless sleep.

His ears then picked up on sirens coming from outside, meaning he had to leave quickly if he wanted to get away before they saw him.

He also had to decide whether he wanted to dispose of Oni's body or not.

Shirou hesitated. He could either destroy the body completely and make everyone think Oni was still out there, potentially leaving his victims in life-long fear of him, or he could leave it and become known as a murderer, no doubt increasing the priority of his capture a great deal.

In the end, he decided to take the hit to his reputation. It was more important that the victims got closure than that his resume remained spotless.

Leaving the body and the girls where they lied, though he set a ward around the girls that would protect them against evil intentions, he jumped out of one of the windows, flying upwards, before setting down on a nearby rooftop to watch over it all.

From his position, he saw Agil standing in front of the large group of freed captives, with the fierce girl standing next to him, both speaking to the newly arrived police-officers, who turned out to be officers Assault and Battery, or whatever their names were.

It looked like things were going to be alright on that end at least.

It was finally over.

Shirou didn't feel any triumph however as he began his way back to Fuyuki-City. He just felt hollow, empty, and despondent.

He wanted to become a Hero of Justice, one that saves all, but today, he had failed. He had failed two innocent girls, and he failed himself by taking a life. He would have to work very hard to even begin to make up for what he had done.

For without a doubt, tonight had turned into a failure.

He was a murderer now.

---

Opening the door to the Emiya-estate, Sakura silently sneaked inside, making sure to produce not a single sound as she walked through the hall on her way to the kitchen.

She was much too early today, having arrived hours sooner than normally, but she couldn't help it. She had woken up only a short while ago with a terrible feeling of foreboding, one that told her she was needed at her Senpai's house.

She didn't know what she was needed for, but she came over immediately anyway.

She figured the first thing to do would be waking up her Senpai, to find out what he needed help with.

Maybe she could wake him again with a ki-

No! She had to think of Ayako! She had given her word to the brunette that she could have Shirou and that was it. Sakura would not go back on her word.

Her mood now somewhat worse than before, Sakura pushed open the door to the dining room…

Only to see her Senpai already sitting there at the table.

Stopping dead in her tracks, Sakura took a moment to regain her bearings, before she went in to greet him with her customary smile.

Once she got into arm's reach however, she froze again, the words stuck in her throat when she saw her Senpai's face.

Sadness. Immense sadness and regret were all that she could see, sheer grief rolling off him in waves.

He didn't cry, but his eyes were glassy. He didn't frown, but his blank face screamed of regret. He sat hunched over, looking at his hands as if it was the first time he saw them, like he couldn't believe that they were his.

She didn't know what had happened, whether someone had died, Senpai had failed doing something important, or whether the stress of the past months was finally catching up to him, but Sakura did know what she had to do.

Without preamble, she slid onto the ground to sit in front of him, before she leaned forward and hugged him with every bit of strength she had, like he had done for her so often before.

Her Senpai didn't react at first, but after a few minutes, his arms slowly came up to embrace her as well, and she placed her head on his chest, letting his chin rest on her head in turn.

She wouldn't ask him what was going on. It was none of her business, but she would be there for him, just like he always was for her.

'This is nice.' She thought, contently sinking away in her Senpai's strong arms, all thoughts about Ayako, Worms and properness forgotten for the moment, as she enjoyed the hug to its fullest extent, snuggling against her Senpai's chest.

She wouldn't mind starting every day like this.

…

…

Except for Senpai being sad! She did not want him to be sad.

Hugs were nice though.

---

And there we are. Done with the next chapter. A bit faster than the previous one, but well. I hope everyone enjoyed.

A lot of things happened in this chapter. By popular demand, I won't go over them again, except for the most important points.

Shirou is slightly assuaged by Shinji's and Sakura's words, but he still doesn't trust Zouken at all. Don't worry people, we are approaching chapter 'Pest-Control'.

Yeah, Shinji is better person than in canon, that is just a fact here. Still no saint, still cannot handle power at all, but better.

Shirou obtains one of the names of the Magi, that'll come back later.

And we get first blood. Shirou kills someone, completely by accident. Fortunately for him, it was a true villain and someone who was planning on going out with a bang already, but still. We all know how difficult that is for Shirou. It's good he has Sakura to help him with a nice big hug.

Also, discord. Here's the link: discord . gg / YaZvJJj

Don't forget to remove the spaces.

Thanks to crazylich79 and liamrodhudson331 for editing the chapter.

Okay, that was everything.

Ted is gone again.