Chapter 8
As he wandered down one of the many sidewalks that spidered through Beacon's massive campus, Shirou saw them. A man and a woman, both blonde and with tears streaming down their cheeks. As Shirou drew closer, he could make out the sound of the woman's sobs and how hard the man fought to stay strong.
"Mrs. Arc," Shirou said, "I'm sorry I didn't save him."
Blue eyes, rimmed with red, turned to Shirou, and her face screwed into a hateful snarl.
"It is your fault! You could have saved him! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!"
Mrs. Arc lashed out with a fist, striking Shirou in the cheek and sending him toppling over. As soon as his back hit the floor, Shirou found himself somewhere else.
Standing up, Shirou gazed around the familiar halls of his home in Fuyuki. The wood floors were cool beneath his sock-clad feet, and he could hear the sound of the wind rustling the leaves through the thin outer wall that led to the central courtyard. The sound relaxed Shirou, and he realized how much he missed his home until a scream ripped through the air. Shirou began to run before the sound faded, exploding through the door that should have led to the courtyard. But instead of the familiar green grass and wooden shed, Shirou stepped into a beautiful field of brilliant golden wheat. Shirou froze, heart pounding as he looked about himself.
Shirou reached down and felt the tingling spines of the plants and inhaled deeply, smelling the sunlight streaming from the clear blue sky.
"Shirou." A voice whispered so softly Shirou barely heard it at all.
Looking around, Shirou saw nothing but a field of gold until he turned around and laid eyes on a single hill with a great oak tree growing from its peak, its green leaves stretching high into the sky.
"Where are you, Shirou?"
Shirou began to walk towards the tree, but he never seemed to get any closer.
"Shirou, please, I've been waiting so long."
Shirou began to jog and finally began to close the distance until, at last, he arrived at the base of the hill.
"Shirou!"
Sprinting the last hundred feet, Shirou crested the hill only to freeze as the air left his lungs in a rush. There, pinned to the tree by swords, her beautiful blue dress stained rusty red, was Saber. The sight tore at Shirou's heart as green eyes, flat and unfeeling, locked on his form.
"I waited for so long; why did you never come?"
A choked sob ripped through Shirou's throat, and he began to stumble forward. Grasping one of the swords that skewered Saber to the tree, he pulled, but it didn't even budge.
"Because he's a pathetic excuse for a person, let alone a hero."
A new voice said, and it made Shirou's blood run cold.
"Archer."
"Shirou. Hey, it's time to get up."
Shirou woke suddenly, his face buried in his pillow, and he felt someone shaking his shoulder lightly.
"You back with us, Handsome? You were sleeping like the dead."
That didn't feel right. Shirou slept lightly by any standard and always woke up at dawn. Shirou pushed himself up and scrubbed at his face, banishing the vestiges of the nightmare away from his mind.
"What time is it?"
"Eight, so you better hurry and get ready. I don't want to miss breakfast on our big day." Yang said, beaming as she bounced on her toes and began shadowboxing. "Finally, no more lectures. Today the only class we have is combat."
That's right. Shirou had forgotten in his early morning haze, and now more awake, he noticed that neither Ruby nor Pyrrha happened to be in the room.
"Pyrrha and Ruby already leave?"
"Yup, they went to warm up a bit, and between you and me, I think Pyrrha's been giving Ruby some tips. Now quit flapping your gums and move it!"
Shirou smiled and did as Yang instructed. It had been a full two weeks since initiation, and in that time, he had gotten to know his team well. Yang could not have been more thrilled that Ruby had a good friend in Pyrrha, as evidenced by the two happily studying together and Ruby joining Pyrrha on her morning workouts ever since they had learned of her background.
Pyrrha was something of a celebrity athlete. Before coming to Beacon, she had won a major fighting tournament in Mistral four years in a row, all without ever being hit, earning herself the title Invincible Girl.
It had taken Ruby a day to get used to the fact that Pyrrha happened to be famous. It had taken Ruby two days to let go of the idea that she needed a nickname to match Pyrrha, and she only let it go because Yang threatened to start calling her 'Lil'Reaper' if she didn't.
Standing under the warm water, Shirou briefly let himself contemplate his nightmare, and a ball of steel formed in his gut as he did so. Unfortunately, bad dreams were not an uncommon occurrence for Shirou. Past failings always came back to haunt him, but lately, they felt so real. His hands tightened into fists. He, indeed, had met Jaune's parents when they had come to campus. They had been grieving, but they had not been cruel when Shirou offered his condolences, more than he deserved.
Shirou shook his head, finished his shower, and quickly dressed in the new combat garb he had purchased the day before.
He wore a soft undershirt and, overtop it, form-fitting steel armor that covered his torso. Soft leather pants were tucked into steel-plated boots, and a bright blue leather overcoat finished the ensemble. Even Yang, who thought that Shirou shouldn't be allowed to pick out his own clothes for some reason, expressed approval of the outfit he'd managed to throw together with the money Ozpin had given him.
Admittedly, appearance hadn't been something Shirou had considered when purchasing his protective gear. Instead, every article had been chosen because of how it could be enhanced. As a result, reinforcement magic coated each item, making the leather as durable as steel and the steel plate almost impenetrable, at least by standard weapons.
Stepping out of the bathroom, he saw Yang's eyes flicker up and down before she gave him a thumbs-up.
"Looking good, Shirou. Now let's boogie."
Leaving their dorm, Shirou and Yang ran into Blake doing the same thing. Unfortunately, team BRNS relationships were still a bit strained. Blake had followed Shirou's advice and stopped going out of her way to antagonize Weiss, going as far as apologizing for being difficult.
However, Weiss's bossy nature clashed spectacularly with Blake's need for independence and the sheer chaos that defined Nora. As such, it had become common for Blake to come by SYPR's dorm with a book to get some peace and quiet.
"Heya Blake, you sleep in too?" Yang asked.
Blake hummed, not an uncommon response from the girl. Blake fell into step beside Shirou and listened to the pairs chatting as they made their way to the cafeteria.
Eating breakfast did not take long, which was okay with Shirou. He found himself happy with the food presented, but the cafeteria lacked the atmosphere he preferred when lingering over a good meal. He had learned about a small but usable kitchen in the dorm building a few days ago and made plans to run to Vale over the weekend to do some shopping. It would also give him a chance to see more of the world, even if it happened to only be the streets of one city.
"Yang, Shirou over here!" Ruby waved enthusiastically from where she and Pyrrha sat next to Weiss, Nora, and Ren. Shirou and Blake followed after Yang, who bounded down the stairs with a smile, golden hair streaming behind her.
The combat stage looked like a miniature colosseum, with a sunken area in the center of the room and stadium seating in a circle around it. Professor Goodwitch was already present, reviewing information on her scroll and occasionally glancing up whenever the door opened. Her calm green eyes would briefly settle on each student before returning to her device. If Shirou were to pick one word to describe the woman, strict would be it. Professor Goodwitch exuded an aura of discipline that could make even the rowdiest person calm down and focus.
Finally, at precisely nine o'clock, Goodwitch called the class to order.
"Quiet."
Silence fell instantly, and all eyes focused on Goodwitch as she began to pace back and forth.
"Your classes up to this point have been academic. A way to integrate you into your new life at Beacon. However, the life of a hunter is not one of pure academia, you will be expected to apply your new knowledge, and this class will be where that happens. You will be expected to spar against each other to gain new skills, and you'll be taken into the field to prove yourself capable against that which we hunt. This class, more than any other, will determine your continued future here. And if for one moment you are not taking it seriously, you will be invited to leave this academy."
Goodwitch gave the room a stern glare, and Shirou didn't think of a moment that she might have been joking.
"Now that you know the stakes let's begin. Today you will face your partners to grasp each other's capabilities. Team leaders, you should pay special attention to these engagements, as you will be leading your teams in combat scenarios later in the year."
Goodwitch fiddled with her scroll, and a screen lit up above the arena.
"Our first match-up today will be Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren."
Nora stood and began skipping down the stairs before Goodwitch finished speaking.
"Come on, Renny! Don't be a slow poke!"
Ren sighed and stood, making his way down much more leisurely.
"Standard tournament rules apply," Goodwitch said once both parties stood opposite each other. "The fight ends when someone's aura enters the red or at my discretion. Are you both ready?"
Nora grasped Magnild and unfolded it into its hammer form while Ren flexed his wrist and his dual pistols, Stormflower, shot from the hidden holster on his wrist.
"Good. Three, two, one begin."
Nora didn't hesitate and charged forward with a cry, completely ignoring the few shots Ren fired off in favor of closing the distance.
Yang whistled as the pair clashed.
"They're good."
Shirou nodded in agreement, but his eyes never left the fight. Nora fought with a surprising amount of artistry for such a small girl wielding such an unwieldy weapon. She expertly guided it using momentum and footwork to chain together fast and powerful swings.
Ren fought more patiently, dodging Nora's strike by the smallest margins and only striking when he could be confident it would land.
"Why doesn't Nora just use her grenades?" Ruby asked, watching keenly as Ren slipped into Nora's guard and hit her with a blistering combo.
"Ren's too quick." Pyrrha said, "He could evade and close before Nora had a chance to do any damage or change her weapon's configuration, leaving her exposed."
Ruby nodded along with Pyrrha's explanation thoughtfully before turning to Weiss.
"What do you think, Weiss?"
Weiss shrugged daintily.
"I can't disagree with Pyrrha's assessment. I would only add that everything about Nora's style is for engaging groups of enemies and hitting them with a frankly ridiculous amount of power. Excellent against Grimm, but not ideal against singular fast opponents."
The fight progressed as expected at that point, with Ren emerging victorious, but the sweat dripping down his face and panting showed just how hard victory had been to earn.
"Well fought, you may both return to your seats."
The screen flickered and changed until it showed two new faces as Ren and Nora ascended the stairs.
"Shirou Emiya and Yang Xiao Long, you shall be our next fighters."
Yang whooped, her eyes bright as she grabbed Shirou and tugged him along after her.
"Good luck," Blake said, her voice almost inaudible over Ruby's cheers.
"Make sure to hit Yang with a bunch of swords, Shirou!"
"Hey!"
Pyrrha giggled, and Ruby looked utterly unrepentant.
Shirou shot Blake a grateful smile as Yang continued to pull at Shirou until they reached the arena.
Yang bounced on the balls of her feet, arms up and ready. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and her knees began to quake.
Yang had been looking forward to this fight for weeks. At Signal Academy, she had been undisputedly the strongest, and no one besides the teachers or Ruby offered any challenge.
"Begin in three, two, one."
Yang moved just as Goodwitch's lips formed the word 'go' and unleashed a blistering combo of shotgun-enhanced punches aimed at Shirou's head and torso. It was an opening salvo that had won most of her fights, but like she had expected, Shirou proved to be made of better stuff. He danced around each blow until she unleashed a haymaker.
Parrying the decisive blow and forcing her to overextend, Shirou slid to the side and slammed his white sword into her elbow. Yang yelped and threw herself out of the path of his follow-up strike with a back handspring.
Yang landed in a defensive crotch and warily watched, ignoring her stinging arm.
"You're as good as I hoped, Handsome," Yang said, hoping to distract him and give herself an opening since it was obvious that trying to overwhelm him would be a dangerous gamble. Instead, Yang decided she needed to fight him like she fought Ruby.
"Trace, on."
Two dozen swords coalesced behind Shirou, and Yang could hear Ruby's happy cheers.
Without moving a muscle, Shirou sent the swords hurtling at Yang.
With a cry, Yang's arms blurred, and she shot, punched, and dodged around the storm of swords. Shirou followed in the wake of steel and forced Yang to block an overhead slash so strong that the ground cracked under their feet. Shirou again capitalized on his positioning and drove his white sword into her gut, sending her sliding across the arena.
"Right, Ruby can't make swords appear out of thin air," Yang said breathlessly, trying to judge how much aura she had left, not daring to take her eyes off Shirou, who could apparently hit like a truck if he wanted.
"Alright, no more messing around!"
Yang reached into herself and called on her semblance. Immediately her hair began to glow, the air around her seemed to ripple with heat, and her eyes turned blood red as a haze of rage settled over her mind. Yang's semblance, Berserk, allowed her to strengthen herself to an incredible degree, increasing with the amount of damage her aura had absorbed before its activation.
Roaring like a beast, Yang exploded forward, and the ground cratered slightly with the force of her launch. Shirou's eyes barely had time to widen, and she was in his guard, fist rocketing towards his armored torso.
Shirou twisted his trunk, but Yang's first still connected, and with the clash of metal on metal, Shirou was sent flying backward.
Rolling as he landed, Shirou traced and fired a handful of swords, slowing Yang down just enough for him to get into a stance. Yang's blows were faster, stronger, and wilder than before, making it more difficult to predict but easier to counter. Pouring more prana into his muscles, Shirou knocked one fist aside, ducked under another, and lunged forward, slamming his elbow into her stomach.
Launched into the sky, Yang was the perfect target. Kanshou and Bakuya spun after her, slicing deeply into her aura. Before she could land, two new swords formed in Shirou's hand, and he reinforced himself to the max. With a crack of stone, Shirou got close to Yang, strung together an artful combination of strikes that never gave her a chance to retaliate. All she could do was keep her arms over her head and duck, duke, and dodge desperately.
"Enough!"
Goodwitch's voice echoed through the arena just as the horn went off, signaling Yang's aura had hit the red.
Shirou stopped mid-strike and stepped back, breathing slightly heavily, and Yang bent at the waist, putting her hands on her knees.
"Ms. Xiao Long, are you alright?"
Yang forced himself to stand straight and shot Goodwitch a thumbs up as she caught her breath.
"Very well. You both put on an excellent showing and may return to your seats."
"Thank you, Professor," Shirou said, leading Yang back to their group.
What Shirou didn't notice as he helped Yang were the wide-eyed stares from the other students.
The rest of the class passed quickly, with several more partner groups sparing, including Blake, Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha.
Ruby hadn't been able to get around Pyrrha's versatility, and Wiess had fallen prey to Blake's unique style and experience, though only Shirou knew about the latter.
"I can't believe you lost, Yang," Ruby said for the third time since both teams had sat down for lunch.
Yang turned and looked at Ruby with a furrowed brow before huffing through her nose.
"Yeah, well, I'll get him next time."
It wasn't that Yang minded losing the fight, though she would never say she enjoyed the experience. However, having only gotten in one solid strike gnawed her pride.
"It was quite the impressive fight," Pyrrha said, glancing between Shirou and Yang speculative. "Your fighting styles are almost the polar opposite of each other."
Pyrrha had a good eye. Shirou's style had mainly been adopted from Archer's skills ingrained in Kanshou and Bakuya, full of misdirection, faints, and brutal counters designed to take powerful opponents off guard.
"Indeed," Wiess said from where she sat across from Shirou and Yang. "I would say that Shirou's style is almost a mix of yours and Blake's, Pyrrha."
Shirou awkwardly scratched at his neck. He had never considered his marital skill to be anything special, so to be openly praised wasn't a comfortable experience.
Shirou was spared further attention when someone behind him yelped loudly.
The source of the noise was a girl Shirou didn't recognize. She would have been tall, if she hadn't been forced to hunched over awkwardly as Cardin Winchester aggressively pulled on one of the girl's long rabbit ears that stood straight up from the top of her head.
"Please let go. That hurts." She asked Cardin, hands fretting at Cardin's grip but unable to do anything without hurting herself further. Cardin smirked and gave another tuck, not letting the girl get her balance.
"Told you they're real," Cardin said to his team, who laughed at the girl's squeak of pain.
Shirou stood but not before Blake who stomped over to Cardin's table, her shoulders tense.
"Hey! She asked you to let go, jerk."
Cardin's smirk briefly faded as he blinked up at Blake before he smiled widely and stood, pulling at the girl's ear as he did so.
"Come on, it's just a bit of fun, I'm not hurting her, and besides, it's not like anyone cares anyway."
Blake glared at Cardin and wished briefly that she hadn't left her weapon in her locker before forcing that impulse down. Violence couldn't be the answer anymore, she reminded herself.
"I care."
Blake's eye flickered to the side as Shirou moved to stand beside her.
Cardin shifted, glancing between Shirou and Blake. The skin around his eyes tightened. Trying to intimidate Blake might have been possible, in Cardin's mind, but he had seen how fast and strong Shirou proved himself in the arena. With a growl, Cardin let go of the girl's ear.
"Fine, let's go, guys," Cardin said, bumping into Shirou as he walked away.
Shirou ignored the slight, his attention on the girl who rubbed soothingly at her ear.
"Are you okay?"
The girl flushed and looked down.
"Yes, thank you for saying something to him. My name is Velvet."
Shirou smiled, but to Blake, it looked grief filled, full of regret.
"It's nice to meet you, Velvet. And it's not a problem. I hate when people act like him, lording their strength over others."
Shirou's mind drifted back, and his eyes glazed slightly as a memory surfaced.
Blake reached out hesitantly and touched Shirou's shoulder, causing him to glance her way and nod.
"Sorry, Velvet, would you like to join us for lunch?" Shirou waved back to where his and Blake's team sat. Yang half standing like she didn't know whether or not to join them.
Velvet shook her head, and her ears flopped slightly as she did.
"I need to meet with my team, but thanks again."
With that, Velvet scurried away, glancing over her shoulder as she did so.
Blake cycled through emotions faster than she could process as she stomped ahead of her team back to their dorm room.
"Blake!" Wiess called out for the third time.
Blake didn't want to hear what she had to say. After dealing with Cardin, Weiss had the gall to rebuke her for intervening. Blake's blood pressure spiked just thinking about it.
Throwing open the door with a bang, she continued pacing back and forth until Weiss walked in with a frown.
"Did you have to slam the door?"
Blake's eye twitched at Weiss's tone, pompous and arrogant. Blake would willingly confess to being sick of hearing the other girl talk, like she believed everything to be beneath her.
"You realize that resolving discourse requires communication, right Blake? If you want something to change, you can't just pace around and glare."
Blake finally held still at Weiss's statement, but the glare didn't fall from her face.
"Fine. Why didn't you back me up when I confronted Cardin?"
Weiss stuttered and paused at Blake's question, an admission of guilt in Blake's mind.
"I told you. It's not our responsibility to step in. We should have reported it to a teacher and let them address it per school policy."
Blake's temples throbbed, and she resisted the urge to snarl at the other girl.
"We're here to learn to be huntresses, to protect people, and you could even be bothered to stand up to a school bully. If not for Velvet, you could have at least backed up your partner!"
Weiss stepped back, her mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out.
"Okayyy," Nora said, stepping between Weiss and Blake. "Maybe we should all act like Ren and find our zen."
The irony of Nora saying that brought everybody up short until Blake shook her head.
"I'm going to go clear my head."
Walking past a still-frozen Weiss and a fretting Nora, Ren politely held the door open for Blake, and she swept from the room without a backward glance.
Alright, I underestimated how long this chapter had to be to include everything I wanted, hence the slightly rushed ending. But we're getting somewhere with the story and building to a few big payoffs, hopefully.
In other news, FSN/Konosuba got the most support in the comments, so I will spend more time brainstorming a story in that fandom when not writing this one. As always, thank you for reading and engaging with this story. Reading your comments has helped me improve and stay motivated.