Sup guys. Hope you enjoy this. Fair warning, this probably won't be a very high priority fic. I'm kinda winging it with this one, and only have some nebulous plans for it. AKA, no plans we die like Lancer.
Oh, also, if you're expecting hardcore lore accuracy, you're in the wrong place. Nasu barely gives a fuck and changes things as he pleases, so why should I care? If all you're going to do is whine about lore, just do me a favor and fuck off.
I also should mention since it's been asked: This is an AU of UBW.
-]|[-
"You've been acclimatizing well, Tohsaka-chan." Hayashi Kyōko told one of her new students. "I'm sure you'll be a shoe-in for the Student Council next year. It's such a shame what happened to Homurahara Academy."
"Thank you, sensei." Tohsaka Rin replied demurely as she walked with the busty, reddish-brown haired teacher, "It's a shame that I won't be able to graduate with most of my friends, but it's understandable given the situation. At least I have Emiya-kun with me here."
Kyōko nodded, "He's been such a great help here too. It almost feels like the school has never run smoother." The buxom teacher let out a little giggle, and a smile appeared on Rin's face. Yeah, that sounded like Shirō, alright. The teacher refocused, "The entire situation still feels so bizarre." She mused, "I just don't quite understand how the school had such a massive gas explosion. It's not like it was an industrial complex. There shouldn't have been that much running through it. I don't suppose you know anything more about it than we do?"
"No, I'm afraid not." Rin shook her head, while secretly cringing. She knew damn well why the school had been destroyed, and it had nothing to do with gas and more to do with arrogant blonde assholes with too much power and magnitudes too much pride. That damned Holy Grail War should have been dismantled decades ago. It had clearly been a failure even without considering the Einzbern's idiocy in the third war leading to Angra Mainyu infecting the ritual. Piecing together what had infected the Grail had been a nightmare after the War had ended. She was lucky they'd been given any time off from classes at all to focus on it, with the teachers and administration scrambling to find alternate locations for the displaced students.
Rin had almost lost her position as Fuyuki's Second Owner entirely by the time the Clock Tower was through investigating. She'd only managed to keep it because they had discovered some old documents from the previous war and the aftermath of it inside the Einzbern manor. With those documents, they had been able to solidly point fingers at the Einzberns for mucking everything up. Well, that and they had been able to prove Kotomine's misdeeds too. Still, it wasn't as if her still being the Second Owner was worth much now, seeing as they'd had to leave Fuyuki for school.
At least she and Shirō hadn't been separated. The two of them had their own apartment here in the city so they didn't have to commute. It was why they had been sent so far away. Unfortunately, Sakura had been sent off to a much farther prefecture in the opposite direction they had been, so Rin couldn't keep an eye on her. At least Rider was still around to defend her if needed, and she was quite glad that they hadn't had a third open spot here in Fujimi High for that annoyance Issei to come as well.
"Hmm?" Kyōko blinked as she saw three other teachers marching down the steps, "Teshima-sensei, what's the matter?"
"Oh? Hello Kyōko-sensei. Tohsaka-chan, was it?" The large man smiled at them, and Rin nodded to him with a smile. The two joined the other teachers in walking, "A student told me that there was a man standing at the gates, and she was worried he might be drugged up. He just kept running into them over and over, according to her."
"Oh my." Kyōko said, "Well, let's go make sure the poor man is alright." She turned to Rin, "Will you be alright getting to class, Tohsaka-chan?"
"I'd like to come with, if that's alright, sensei. I have a free period right now, and I have some EMT training if it's needed." Rin smiled, while inwardly wondering if this might be related to why she and Shirō had woken up today with a strange feeling. The air had felt… charged, in some way. Neither of them had really slept very well.
"Oh, you're quite talented, aren't you, Tohsaka-chan?" One of the older teachers smiled, "Well, let's get on with it, shall we?"
Rin followed. Of course, she had no EMT training at all, but some light hypnosis would fix any issues if she ended up having to perform any magecraft. Once they neared the metal gate, Rin's eyes narrowed. The man standing there and running into the gate looked very strange. Pale, sallow, and her nose was picking a faint but uncomfortably familiar odor. Before she could say a word, Teshima had decided to act like a meathead and rolled up his sleeves. He grabbed the man by the collar and jerked him into the gates. Rin's sharp eyes picked up on the bit of blood that he coughed out. He really had not been handled roughly enough for that. 'Something's wrong!' She yelled, "Sensei, get away from him!"
"Teshima-sensei!" Kyōko gasped at the same time that she yelled, "You shouldn't be violent with hi-"
"GAAAAAAHHHHH!" Teshima jerked backwards, screaming at the top of his lungs as a spray of arterial blood flew through the air. Kyōko let out a squeal of fear as she turned pale, and the other teachers took steps back as their coworker fell to the ground and writhed, clenching his arm. Rin paled drastically as she saw the teeth-shaped chunk taken out of the limb, right through the bone. And then he stilled, laying flat.
"Oh my god, he's dead!" The other younger, male teacher couldn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth.
Kyōko looked like she was fighting back tears as she took a step forward, "B-but how is that possible? He can't have died that quickly."
Rin was grim as she looked at the corpse, but there was a sinking feeling in her gut. A sinking feeling that was absolutely correct when the corpse twitched and started getting up.
"Teshima-sensei!" Kyōko sounded overjoyed, "You're okay!" She took a step forward.
"NO GET BACK!" Rin grabbed the back of her teacher's shirt and physically pulled her back as the walking corpse swiped at her.
"TOHSAKA?!" The younger male teacher gasped, "Wha-" He never got to finish his last word, as the corpse immediately turned to him and lunged, chomping down on his neck, and drawing a choked scream from him.
The final older male saw this happen and immediately started running and screaming in the other direction as he saw one coworker savage another. "W-wha?" Kyōko choked, tears streaming from her eyes, "What is HAPPENING?!" She screamed as Rin let go of her. The ghoul before them immediately turned upon hearing the scream and abandoned the dying teacher.
'This isn't normal.' Rin bit her lip, 'These aren't ghouls! It's the middle of the day! They shouldn't be able to come out in the sunlight! And they're not acting anything like the victims of Dead Apostles! It's like they have rabies! I shouldn't get close until I know more. It bit straight through bone. I don't know if it can bite through Reinforcement or if getting any fluid on me is dangerous.' She cursed as she raised her arm, "Gandr!" She shouted, and a black ball tinged with a red aura appeared at her fingertips. This one was charged into a Finn Shot through more magical energy. It fired forward, and punched a hole straight through the zombie, obliterating its heart. It was forced back, tripping over the other corpse.
Kyōko let out a squeal as she saw it, feeling very faint. Rin bit her lip, hoping that no one else was watching and that she'd only have to modify Kyōko's memories. She turned her arm to the other corpse, but gasped as Teshima's corpse once more got up, gaping hole in its chest and all. She grit her teeth, "Fine then!" She aimed and fired another shot, this time at its head. It popped like a melon and the corpse fell down and did not move again. She sighed in relief, "At least that worked." She aimed at the other teacher who was starting to get up and blew its head off too. Just for good measure, she also aimed at the ghoul outside of the gate and took it out. "Why aren't they disintegrating?" She hissed to herself. Ghouls weren't supposed to leave bodies! That was practically Dead Apostle 101! She let out a sigh as she turned to her teacher.
The redhead was trembling in fear and shying away from her, "Wh-what is happening?! Tohsaka-chan, what?! How?! Why?! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?!"
Rin sighed, "I'm sorry sensei, I'll have to er-" her words were cut off as the intercom came on.
"Attention all students!" The principal's voice came on, "Violence has broken out on campus! Students should evacuate the campus according to their teacher's instructions!"
Rin's eyes narrowed. They weren't visible from the main office. It was on the other side… of… "Oh shit!" She whimpered as she realized what happened. There was another entrance! Rin felt ice drip down her back. These things were coming from outside and were extremely infectious. This… this wasn't a school thing. This could be a citywide thing. The Mage Association couldn't possibly keep this quiet if it was as bad as she was realizing it could be. This wasn't an isolated island or community. This was a whole city!
And her worst fears were about to be realized. The principal was about to incite a panic and get all of the students out into the open where more could be bitten! "I repeat! Violence has brok- wait!" The principal gasped as a crashing noise sounded through the intercom. "What are you doing?! Stop! Get away!" Another crash sounded from the intercom, "No! SOMEONE. HEL-" A loud crunch rang through an utterly still school before an extended, agonized scream sounded, followed by more crashing. The intercom went silent.
It was silent for three heartbeats, before Kyōko whimpered, "N-no, this-this isn't real. This can't be real." She was shaking like a leaf, and nearly as pale as snow.
Rin came up to her, "Sensei. Sensei!" She shook her, but the older woman continued to spiral. Rin bit her lip and raised her hand, before slapping Kyōko across the face. The older woman squeaked in pain and raised her hand to her cheek, "Are you with me, sensei?" Rin placed her hands on either shoulder, "We're in danger and we're going to stay in danger unless we manage to find some shelter and come up with a plan to escape to safety. I need you to focus. I can't help you if you're panicking."
"R-right." Kyōko nodded, trying desperately to control her terrified shakes, "T-the staff lounge. The keys to the staff cars and buses are kept there."
"Tch, what an inconvenient location." Rin cursed, "We need weapons." She helped Kyōko up, "Let's go."
"C-can't you just use that… magic gun thing?" Kyōko asked as she followed after her student.
"I don't have unlimited prana." Rin said as they ran. Kyōko winced as her heels got in the way and she had to take them off, "And we're not supposed to be using magecraft in public. Our world is hidden and kept hidden. I'm already risking them coming after me by not just erasing your memory and leaving you. You're lucky I'm not like most mages, sensei." She admitted, causing Kyōko to pale again.
"T-thank you." She managed to stutter out.
"You're welcome. Now let's go find Emiya-kun." Rin said, speeding up.
"Didn't you say we needed weapons?" Kyōko asked, wishing she had worn sneakers today.
Rin smirked, "Yeah, I did."
-]|[-
CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!
"I still can't get over how you were more into Kyūdō than Kendō, Emiya-kun." Busujima Saeko said as she and Shirō exchanged blows with their bokken. "You're far too good at this for someone who hasn't had much experience."
"I had a good teacher, Busujima-san." Shirō replied with a sad little smile, remembering said teacher's blonde hair and noble demeanor. "She only had a short time to whip me into shape, so I could hardly not give it my all." Though he never really had been good at conventional swordsmanship. Not by Arturia's standards, at least. Because of his resonance with Archer, he'd developed skill with far more… unconventional tactics. But despite his victory over Gilgamesh, not enough time had passed for him to refine it into a style that was truly his. Even now, he itched to grab a second bokken to dual wield, but he needed to focus on discipline and refinement. EMIYA had treated most of his blades barely better than the blonde narcissist did. Shirō wished to honor their wielders. He could use all of them skillfully due to their recorded histories, but his modern human body held him back from truly excelling the way their true owners did. So, he would work hard and master a few of them, to honor the Heroes of the past.
Saeko was smiling softly as they backed away and firmed up their stances. She had never quite felt like this before. She'd always been rather untouchable in her favored art, and had earned the captaincy of the team long before she had any right to. The seniors above her had gladly ceded the position to her when they discovered her skill. Meeting someone who she could truly fight with had been almost a dream.
Those smiles were wiped away as the intercom came on. "Attention all students!" The principal's voice came on, "Violence has broken out on campus! Students should evacuate the campus according to their teacher's instructions! I repeat! Violence has broke- wait! What are you doing?! Stop! Get away! No! SOMEONE. HEL-"
Shirō and Saeko stared at the intercom in disbelief, before turning to look at one another after the disgusting sounds died out. "We need to move." Shirō said, becoming serious as the grave.
"Keep your bokken with you." Saeko agreed. They exited the Kendō gym slowly, looking around for anything out of place. Their bokken were held lightly but firmly, ready for any violence. They saw a student walking slowly in the hall to the right, "Hey, do you have any idea what's go-" Shirou started to ask, but as soon as he spoke, the student turned around and his words died in his throat. The girl's skin was nearly purple, her eyes unfocused, and bloodwas weeping from the gaping hole in her throat. She started to shamble towards them, and Saeko stepped forward, raising her bokken. With a cry, she brought it down sharply and audibly broke several bones in the corpse's chest, knocking it back. Her eyes widened as it got up as if nothing ever happened, and started coming for her again. Eyes narrowing, she raised her weapon once more and cracked it across the thing's skull. This time it didn't move again.
Shirō swallowed, "Is….was that a ghoul?" He couldn't believe this. Was there a Dead Apostle in this city? But then why was it not turning to dust now that it was dead? Why could he not smell any magical energy coming from it? And how in the hell was it out and about in the middle of the day?
"You mean a zombie?" Saeko replied, her tone just as grim as his, "I believe so." She nudged it with her bokken carefully, ready to spring back at any moment. It didn't move. "It didn't react at all when I injured it, beyond falling down."
"But now is out for the count after a blow to the head." Shirō replied, "…This could be bad. We need to stop this before it's too late."
"Let's go to the nurse's office." Saeko suggested, "We may need to save Marikawa-sensei. If we're right and this is some sort of zombie virus, there's bound to be students who try to get help from the nurse."
"Let's go. After that, we need to find Tohsaka." Shirō took off, and Saeko raced after him.
"Don't bother killing them unless we need to. We'll exhaust ourselves before we get through all of them if this gets bad." Saeko said, and Shirō grit his teeth harshly, knowing she was right. He didn't know what to do. He would save everyone he could, but the only way this was going to end was if they killed the Dead Apostle controlling them. He needed to find Rin. She would know what to do.
-]|[-
Shizuka trembled like a leaf as she saw the student defending her get bitten. She couldn't even remember his name, and the devastation on his face when she said as much made her feel awful. And it was just getting worse, as more of those things started going past the student and shambling towards her. "N-no, hold on now…" She pleaded as they got closer.
And then she was saved, as Shirō broke into the room and practically cracked three of their skulls with one single swipe of his bokken. Shizuka's mind would have idly noted that it shouldn't have been possible to do that with a wooden sword, but she was too busy staring at her savior in elation. Saeko followed him and finished off the rest of the horde with powerful, swift strokes of her own sword.
"Are you okay, sensei?" Shirō asked kindly, giving her a smile.
Shizuku wobbled in relief, nodding woodenly. Saeko kneeled next to the bitten student, drawing their attention. "You were brave, second year." She said evenly, "You protected Shizuka-sensei until we were able to get here. What is your name?"
The boy grimaced, and managed to wheeze out, "Ishii Kazu."
"Ishii-kun, you did well." She said again, but her face was sad, "You are aware of what happens when you get bitten?" Ishii let a single tear escape as he closed his eyes, nodding, "Do you want your friends and family to see you like that? If not… then though I have never killed someone before, I will help you."
Shizuka gasped, "Wait a minute!"
Shirō clenched his fist in fury, his teeth grinding as the other student could only smile weakly and say, "Please…" There wasn't even anything he could do. He could try Tracing Avalon, but there was no guarantee it would work on someone other than him or Arturia, and it cost a bit too much mana anyway. His Circuits had only barely started recovering to what they should be, after his years of misinformed idiocy. He still needed mana from Rin to Trace a copy of his most complete Noble Phantasm. At least for the moment. There was nothing he could do. That thought burned him. He held Shizuka back as Saeko wound up and cracked the poor student's skull with her bokken.
He admired her for her strength and willingness to do what needed to be done. Shizuka whimpered and turned away, so he put a hand on her shoulder, "Sorry you needed to see that, sensei. But now we need to move. Do you have everything you need?"
Shizuka let out a shuddering breath, "L-let me just fill my medical bag. There's bound to be injuries that don't turn us into monsters." She hurried to do so as they kept careful watch on their surroundings. Luckily, there didn't seem to be many of the ghouls around them, at least at the moment. They only had to kill another three by the time she was ready, and Shirō had a bag of medicine himself as she was able to fill two. "Let's go to the staff lounge." Shizuka said as they moved quickly from the nurse's office.
"The staff lounge?" Saeko asked, "What an absurd suggestion. That would take us away from the exits."
"But my car keys are there. We could get away using it." Shizuka protested, before cringing as Saeko casually used her bokken to send one of the zombies into the locker and away from them, "Why aren't you killing them?" She asked as Shirō followed suit and knocked one down the stairs.
"Stopping to crush all of their skulls is a waste of energy." Saeko said, "There's likely now hundreds of them and only two of us. We'll get exhausted before we kill them all, and just get surrounded."
Shirō nodded, "They're also freakishly strong. They don't have to worry about human limits or pain, after all. If they grab hold, there's no getting away."
"I see…" Shizuka said as she took a step forward. Her foot caught on a loose rug, and she tripped, "Owowow! What was that?!"
Saeko kneeled before her, "Such fashion isn't good for running." Shizuka squawked as Saeko seized her skirt.
Shirou blushed a solid red and looked away as Saeko tore her skirt up to her hip, revealing the frilly bands of a lacy pair of purple panties. "Nooo! This was Prada!" Shizuka moaned in shock.
"Brand name clothing or your life?" Saeko deadpanned at the buxom blonde.
"Both!" Shizuka hissed angrily. But they couldn't go on as a loud bang sounded from nearby, followed by some weird sounds that they weren't quite sure about.
"Gunfire?" Saeko asked, eyes widening.
"No, that didn't sound like it. Similar though. Let's go!" Shirō said and took off running, followed by the rest of them. A scream rang out, "HURRY!"
-]|[-
"I won't be able to figure out more about them if you keep killing them!" Takagi Saya hissed from her position behind Hirano Kōta.
"We're going to die if I don't! Please fight too, Takagi-san!" Hirano said as he continued firing his makeshift nail gun.
"What?! Why do I have to fight too?!" Saya yelled angrily.
"Because I'm going to run out of ammo soon!" Hirano replied, turning to look at her. His eyes widened.
"So what?! Just refill it then, dumbass!" Saya yelled back at him.
"But one is behind you!" He pointed, and she gasped and whirled around. "Shit, I'm out!" He cried as he tried to take it out and it raised an arm towards her.
She screamed as she tripped on a bag and fell backwards, "N-no! Don't you come near me!" She grabbed something and threw it at the zombie, missing entirely as it took a step. She then grabbed something bigger from the trophy case behind her, "GO AWAY!" She shrieked, only for the heavy trophy to simply crack in half on its forehead. It lunged for her as her eyes caught onto the drill in the bag, "GO AWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!" A mechanical whirring accompanied by rapid hammering filled the air, with the sound of splashing fluid following. "I'm sick of these things! DIE, DAMN YOU! DIE! DIE! DIE!" She screeched as the corpse went still and she fell forward onto it, jamming the drill further through its head in a geyser of gore.
But her hysterics and the hammer drill had just attracted more of them, and it was that scene that two teachers and several students burst into. "Rin!" Shirō was elated to see her.
"Shirō!" Rin beamed at him as they prepared to fight, though Rin cringed when she saw all of the new people who could discover magecraft with them.
"Reunite later!" Komuro Takashi yelled, "Kill these damn things!" He charged forward with a roar, brandishing his bat, followed by Miyamoto Rei.
"I've got the right!" Shirō yelled, following him. Together, the group of four allowed Rin to hang back and not reveal magecraft unnecessarily, and they quickly laid out the remaining ghouls. Once they were all dead, Rei immediately ran over to the shuddering Saya, "Takagi-san!" She put her hand on Saya's shoulder, "Are you okay?"
"M-Miyamoto…" Saya continued to tremble as Kyōko and Shizuka raced to her as well.
"Shirō…" Rin embraced her boyfriend, sighing into his chest.
Shirou embraced her tightly, "I'm glad you're safe, Rin."
"Idiot, what do you take me for?" She tsuned, "Like I couldn't handle a couple ghouls."
"What the hell is going on?" He hissed at her, but she didn't get to respond because Saya started to break down.
"Senpai?" She asked, a hysterically cruel note in her voice as she heard Takashi and Rei introduce themselves to Saeko, "Give me a break! You two got held back so you're the same age as her."
"Hey now, Takagi…" Shirou wasn't sure who said it, but she snapped.
"DON'T TREAT ME LIKE I'M STUPID! I'M A GENIUS!" She whirled around, "I can do anything once I put my mind to it!" She wobbled, her hand trembling like a lead as she held it up to her large breasts, "I… I'm…"
"Enough." Saeko put her hand on Saya's shoulder, "It's okay." She said, gently.
Saya trembled again, as more tears started to build up in her eyes. She slowly turned to the mirror next to her. Her eyes were wide and disbelieving, "L-Look how dirty I am… I… I need to tell mama to get it cleaned…" She continued to shake like a leaf as Kyōko also put a hand on her other shoulder.
That seemed to do it, as she slackened and turned to Saeko, placing her head into the purple-haired girl's bosom. Sniffles rang through the air, before she devolved into full-on, heart wrenching sobs as Saeko embraced her. The rest of them could only look on solemnly as the prideful girl completely broke down in the other girl's arms.
-]|[-
Almost everyone in the staff lounge could do nothing more than sag, or at least sit down and let the tension out. The door had been barricaded, with Rin secretly applying a very small Bounded Field to ensure the door could not open without her say-so. She'd let the others block it off as well, to keep the secret. Kyōko had already been instructed in no uncertain terms to say absolutely nothing about her abilities to anyone, and was keeping mum.
With Shirō there, they'd taken no time to do it at all, and just like him, he immediately walked over to the small little kitchenette where Saya was hunched over the sink to make sure she was alright, "Are you okay, Takagi-san?"
She looked at him, almost sparkling a little as she slipped her glasses on, making Shirō blush just the slightest amount. Next to him, Kōta gasped, "G-Glasses?"
Saya 'tsked,' and tossed her towel at him, "Yeah, what of it, Hirano? My contacts kept falling out." She took a breath, "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks, Emiya-kun."
She walked by, and the towel slipped from Kōta's head, "Glasses…" He said, almost in rapture. Shirō gave him a bit of a look but said nothing about it.
Instead, he clapped the boy on the shoulder, "I'm sure everyone's exhausted. Let's go sit down." He walked off and sat heavily in his chair, with Rin coming over and casually sitting in his lap without a care in the world.
Shizuka was hugging it out with Kyōko, wailing that she was glad the other woman was okay. Kyōko let out a sigh as she patted her fellow teacher on the back, "There, there, I had Tohsaka-chan with me. She saved me from the jaws of one." She winced, "Literally."
Takashi hated to do it, but he interrupted them, "Marikawa-sensei, you said you were coming here for your car keys?"
"Ah, yes!" Shizuka let go of Kyōko and grabbed her bag, "They're in here."
Shirō and Saeko let out sardonic little smirks as they looked at the ditzy blonde, "Uhh, sensei?" Shirō started to ask,
"Will your car fit all of us?" Saeko finished, looking like she wanted to shake her head.
Shizuka sweatdropped, "Uh… now that you mention it…" The sweatdrop grew as she remembered it was a small compact.
Kyōko groaned as she slumped into her seat, "Mine won't work either. I could fit four of us in my sedan, and probably not comfortably either. I knew I should have gone with the crossover."
Saya shook her head, "That still would be too small to fit our entire group, so you were probably right in keeping it small."
Kōta grinned as he pointed outside, "What about the buses we use for club trips?"
Kyōko smiled and grabbed the keys off the rack, "They're right here." Her smile slipped, "How does it look outside, Hirano-kun?"
"No good…" The dark-haired boy said softly, "The parking lot seems pretty empty, but the way towards it is loaded up with those things."
"A bus is fine and all, but where will we go?" Shizuka asked softly.
Rin took control of the conversation, "Shirō and I have nothing and no one waiting for us here in Tokonosu city, so the priority should be to look for your family members if we can."
Takashi nodded, "We can stop at everyone's houses, starting from the closest. We help our families if necessary, and then look for somewhere safe."
"We're sure to find somewhere. The police and special forces should be on call, so there's gotta be shelters like when we have earthquakes." Saya piped in.
"No." Rin said, drawing all of their attention, "After we rescue all of the family we can, we make for Fuyuki." She let out a deep sigh, "My manor and Shirō's compound are well defended. We would be safe there." Left unsaid was why they were well defended, but Kyōko was looking at her with a glint in her eye, "And though it is a decently large city, it is not quite as populous as Tokonosu, so there should be less of Them to deal with, if there are any."
"I hope there aren't." Shirō mumbled from behind her.
Saya slowly nodded her head, "That's… not a bad idea."
Further discussion halted as Rei started to freak out minutely, "What the hell is this?" They looked at her, seeing her head inclined upwards, drawing their attention to the TV.
Saeko grabbed the remote and raised the volume.
"In response to the riots raging all over the country, the government has enacted emergency countermeasures. However, the SDF is paying no heed to the current opposition party, and there is a strong argument for more cautious actions…"
"What the hell do they mean RIOTS?!" Takashi snarled as he stood up and glared at the TV next to Rei.
The Emergency News Coverage turned to a brunette news anchor standing in front of various emergency personnel, "The number of deaths in the Saitama Prefecture already exceeds ten thousand." Rin hissed like an angry cat as Shirō's arms tightened around her. The two were glued to the screen. "The prefecture governor has-" A loud crack sounded, making the news anchor flinch and look to the right. "T-That was gunfire!" She gasped, "Just now, the police opened fire! But what are they shooting at?!" The camera turned to two body bags (and it was VERY clear to everyone watching that they WERE body bags and that the people inside should have been very dead) sitting up, before being shot by the police. And things just went from bad to worse, as the news anchor visibly started to panic, and the camera work went very shaky. "What?! No, it can't be! He was dead! H-Help me!" Her screams as she was approached by one of the dead rang through the air, followed by increasingly hysterical pleas for someone to save her. The feed then went dead following a terrified scream and the camera being dropped, showing a badly mangled leg coming into view for a brief moment. Static filled the screen.
They all swallowed heavily as the news channel came on, with audible panicking happening behind a "please stand by" splash screen. A new anchor from the studio came on, and explained that they would only be broadcasting from the studio now. "As you can tell, the situation outside has become grave. Please stay inside your homes unless it is absolutely necessary to go outside. Also, please barricade your doors and reinforce any glass windows where you can. If you can't be in your home for any reason, please head for the nearest shelter in your area. We'll bring you more information once it's safer."
Takashi pounded his fist onto the desk, "That's it?! Why aren't they saying more?! They're making it sound like this is a damn insurrection!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rin stood and walked to the group, "They don't want to incite panic like the principal did. All he accomplished was getting all of the students and teachers out of their classrooms and into the waiting jaws of the ghouls."
"Finally, some damn intelligence in the room." Saya grumbled under her breath, though Rin caught it and smirked slightly, "She's right. The government can't function when people are panicking. Terror breeds chaos, and that leads to societal collapse. And if society collapses, how do we retaliate against the walking de-"
Rei gasped, and they turned back to the TV. Rin's jaw slowly lowered, and she took a step back, "N-No way…"
The World News had been put up, "Authorities can't find a solution to the abnormal situation that has spread across Europe." The blonde anchor said, "Executives of the Federal Government have abandoned the White House and have announced that they are moving the Cabinet to a carrier in the ocean. Experts predict this move is in preparation for the deployment of Nuclear Weapons." All throughout the switching narratives, scenes of devastation from across the world showed, with the White House in America smoking, then a large city under army fire, "Peking is in flames," A large explosion, "London is keeping relative order," Which was no surprise to two of the occupants of the room, "But looters are running rampant in Paris and Rome."
"It… it can't be." Rei said in shock, "It's only been a few hours…"
"It's not just Japan…" Kyōko was hiding her lips behind her hands, "The whole world has been infected."
Rin clenched her fists so hard that she was nearly drawing blood. 'Please stay safe, Sakura. Rider, you BETTER protect her!'
Shirō stood, "Rin." He grabbed her hand and her attention, "Excuse us for a moment." He dragged her away to the kitchenette, making his girlfriend stumble momentarily as she followed. The rest of them quirked eyebrows, before returning to their own conversation on how this seemed more like a pandemic as the two hid themselves away. "What the hell is going on?" He hissed at her once they were away from the rest of them, "How is this POSSIBLE?! Did EVERY Dead Apostle AND Ancestor decide to launch attacks at once?!"
"I don't know!" Rin spat, clenching her fists, and pacing in front of him like a caged tiger, "I… I don't think they have anything to do with this. Didn't you notice?"
"I did." Shirō growled, "Middle of the day. No scent of magic. The corpses sticking around after being given a final death…"
Rin bit her lip, "And they die so easily. Just a hard blow to the head. Nothing seems to be controlling them either. They're not wandering around with purpose. You heard what Takagi-chan said. They're blind, can't feel a thing, and only follow sounds." She started to nibble on the knuckle of her right index finger, "Did you try any Black Keys or Rule Breaker?"
"No. I was with Busujima-san, and they were dying easily enough that I didn't see the need." Shirō replied with a shake of his head.
"This is just fucking great!" She hissed, "These things aren't ghouls, vampires, ANYTHING I know of! I… I don't think this was us. I don't think the Moonlit World is responsible for this." She looked like she wanted to punch something as the words came out of her mouth, "Just… awesome! Amazing! Mundanes created a damned zombie virus pandemic! Probably without a lick of help from the Moonlit World!"
Shirou hardened his stance, "Rin… what are we going to do? The whole damn world has gone crazy. Are we going to stay worried about the secret when there are people to save? Our friends to defend?"
Rin held back a groan, having known the question was coming. "I… Kyōko-sensei already knows. I had to save her. But Shirō, this is different. You know it is! These things weren't made by magic. They would come after us if we just start using magecraft in public without a care in the world!"
"I think they have bigger things to worry about." He said grimly, "The population is going to drop like flies. And we have no idea what will happen if a mage is actually bitten and turned. We could go from the walking dead to the walking dead with magic. Not everyone is as well defended as we are, and the Clock Tower is. And that's not counting what the Dead Apostles will do. The secret is going to get blown wide open. It's only a matter of time."
"You don't know that." She said, but the rebuttal sounded lame even in her own ears. She bit her lip again and looked down, "Okay." She said finally, "But we're NOT going to just disregard secrecy entirely!" She put her foot down, "Our new friends, sure. They'll be with us as we travel and will be helping us survive, and I think we can trust them. But we can't blow the secret willy nilly. Otherwise, we'll save them and get them to safety, only to have the Clock Tower show up and slaughter all of us anyway once this is over."
"Of course." Shirō smiled in relief, making her melt as he pulled her to him, "Thank you, Rin."
"Idiot." She mumbled into his chest, before pulling him down and kissing him softly. She gave him a bit of a salacious smirk, "Good thing we did some exercise last night. I should be able to feed you more Mana if you need it."
Shirō blushed, "Minx." She giggled in response to his face.
They walked out, drawing the attention of the others, "Had a good talk?" Kyōko asked lightly, but there was that calculating glint in her eyes.
"We did." Rin said simply, "Shall we rest longer or move out immediately?"
"I'd say immediately." Saya said, "The longer we wait, the less chance we have of finding our family members. We have to treat this like a virus. A very… aggressive virus. That means that the longer we take to get to safety, the more of Them there will be in the streets."
She was right. Shirō took a breath, "Is anyone too tired to follow that suggestion right now?" No one spoke, "Then let's move out, and try to stay quiet. Anyone who can fight, defend those who can't."
"Got it!" Several voices rang out, as Shirō took point. They made quick work of taking down their barricade, and made their way into the halls. Thankfully, there were only three zombies in the hall, and they were quickly taken out by two well-placed shots from Kōta and a bash from Shirō's bokken. They got to the stairs outside of that hall, and all of their hearts clenched as they saw just how many of their former friends and classmates were now dead.
Saeko spoke, "Remember, avoid fights where you can. If you need to attack, headshots only. There's no need to engage with all of them. We'll never kill them all."
"And they react to sound, so try to stay qu-" A scream rang out, "…god damn it." Saya cursed as they looked down and saw several students surrounded by the dead. One of the girls had screamed, and the three males were trembling like leaves. Their weapons were shaking in their hands.
The zombie charged at the leading boy, only to be taken out with a quick headshot by Kōta. The boy gasped, and then Shirō and Saeko were in the mix, leaping from the railing above and down a story. Both of them cracked a skull each, as Kōta continued to expertly nail down the rest of the dead that weren't in reach. Rei and Takashi raced down the stairs, with Takashi cracking one of their skulls like a grape with his bat, and Rei spearing one of them with her makeshift weapon through the head.
"Th-thank-" The boy tried to say, but Saeko raised her finger to her lips and shushed them.
They immediately quieted down, and Saeko told them, "They react to sound." Their eyes all widened, as they realized that they had been attracting the damn things themselves. "Is anyone bitten?"
"No." The blue-haired girl said, shaking her head.
Rei smiled, "They look okay." She whispered as the rest of the group joined them. "We're getting out of here. Will you come with us?"
The red-haired girl looked like she'd sagged in relief, "Please." She begged them.
Shirō again took the lead, and looked downstairs. The locker room in front of the entrance looked completely loaded with Them. There were at least two dozen just in there. He kneeled, and Saya spoke up, "Why are we hiding? They can't see us."
"Would you like to test that?" Takashi asked with a wry look. Saya flinched, and quieted down.
Saeko sighed, "Someone needs to do it." She looked down, "If we remain here, we'll be unable to move when we get attacked. This is a hurdle we need to pass."
Rin again nibbled on her knuckle, "I have an idea." She said, "We don't know that they're blind like Takagi-chan said, but we DO know for a fact that they follow sounds. This place is so quiet that any sound will carry. So even if one of us goes downstairs and proves that they're blind, and that we're able to walk past, all it would take is someone tripping or accidentally tapping a weapon to something and we're going to be swarmed." She said, making all of them wince. She smirked, and looked at Shirō, "So… I suggest we give them something to listen to."
Shirō blinked, looking at Rin, and then casually looked at the five other students they'd picked up. She nodded minutely, telling him without words that she had already handled it. Shirō looked a little closer, and saw that the five were all under hypnosis. He nodded to her, and the rest of their group looked at them in confusion. "Care to share with the class?" Saya asked, with a tic mark on her forehead.
Rin stood, "Listen up," She said, and they immediately focused on her, "What you're about to see will shock you. You will not freak out, and you will not speak about what you see to anybody without our say so, is that clear?"
Takashi stepped to her, "What's this about?"
Rin's eyes narrowed, "I asked… is that clear?" An almost physical aura of danger washed over them, making all of them stiffen, and nod rapidly. "Good." Rin said, and was back to being sunny, "I'm serious here. This is secret and it stays secret. If you break that promise…" She glared darkly, "I'll feed you to Them myself." All of them swallowed, seeing the girl who had been so kinda and helpful since she arrived at their school act so… dangerous.
Kyōko was the only one who knew why, and she spoke up, "I already saw it when she saved me. She's very serious about how serious this is. Trust me… you're not going to believe your eyes."
Saeko swallowed, a very rare and unwelcome feeling of unease leaving her throat dry, "You have our word." She eyed the other five they'd picked up, "But what about them?"
"Don't worry about them." Rin said, and that feeling of unease ratcheted up slightly when the other students didn't even react. "Shirō… let's do it." She said, and the redhead nodded.
He took a deep breath with his eyes closed, and let it out, "I am the bone of my sword." The ones who knew some English furrowed their brows in confusion at the seemingly nonsensical phrase.
"What are-" Saya started to ask before she choked on her words.
Twin blades appeared in Shirō's hands in flashes of light and jaws dropped all around. Saeko nearly swooned as she saw the strangest, yet most beautiful swords she'd ever laid eyes on appear before her. They were both golden, single-edged blades with plain hilts, with odd depressions curving in from the back of the blades right above the handles. The depression left empty spaces, not unlike crescent moons between the handles and the actual blades. Two long spikes framed the depressions with small, triangular spikes in between. The actual blades themselves looked vaguely dao-shaped, with twin triangular cutouts near the tips. All in all? Shirō looked like he was holding solid lightning in his hands.
Shirō could hardly understand why Gilgamesh simply locked Enki in the Gates of Babylon like they were so much trash. The golden bastard had real treasures in his hands, and yet he never used them, or simply launched them like they were mere rocks from his portals. After his fight with Gilgamesh, they had become his favorites, overtaking even Kanshō and Byakuya due to their unique abilities. One of which he was about to make good use of. Shirō put the two hilts together and the blades warped just a tiny amount. The triangular cutouts near the tip lit up, and a golden strand made of energy connected the tips, turning the twin blades into a bow.
"What the fuck?!" Half of them whisper-screamed at the sight.
"Rin." Shirō said, and his girlfriend hurried over.
She took her own breath, "Trace On." She mumbled, using his old invocation to self-hypnotize herself more easily. She could hardly perform Tracing to his level. She unfortunately did not have a handy Reality Marble recording all of the data inside of her. But some of the steps, she was certainly capable of, and she had never been happier. She used Projection, a skill most magus thought was useless, to create three utterly perfect rubies, filled with mana. These were nowhere near the quality of Shirō's Projections, but they didn't have to be. They would break easily and even now, were already being rejected by Gaia, but that was the point. They only needed to last long enough. She had a limitless supply of jewels now that could be used, so long as she had the mana to create them.
She attached them to the shaft of the sword Shirō created, a nameless blade. Shirō used Alteration to change the shape of the blade and make it aerodynamic, and then started to walk down the steps until he was satisfied with his position. And then he fired, an audible 'twang' drawing Their attention.
But that twang was drowned out by the shattering of the glass, which made even more noise. The attention of practically every zombie in the school was drawn, and then the arrow hit the ground a good distance away. The jewels all shattered into a rain of shards, and each individual shard started to crackle and pop with explosions, causing a cacophony of noise not unlike a set of sparklers.
Every single zombie in the area started heading for the racket, leaving their path clear. "Let's go!" He shouted, disconnecting the hilts, and returning them to their blade forms. He raced forward, his arms glowing with Reinforcement lines as he crossed his blades in front of his chest. With a yell, he swung both of them, cutting clean through a line of Them as well as the entrance to the school from several feet away. 'Thank you Enki. I couldn't have done that with just any blades.'
"Go!" Rin shouted, once the others (barring the five hypnotized students) failed to so much as twitch.
That startled them, and Takashi squawked, "We're talking about that later!"in a very hysterical tone. The rest of them followed, and broke into the dying light of the day outside of the school.
The loud crackles were still causing a ruckus, but the closer noise of them bursting from the school drew some of Their attention. Shirō then revealed the reason for the odd depressions in Enki, as he let go of the handles and sent them slightly into the air so he could catch them in reverse-grips. The handles changed positions and the blades were now parallel with his arms. They started spinning so fast they sounded not unlike buzzsaws.
"OH SURE!" Saya blustered loudly, "Fucking magic sword-bow-tonfas! Why didn't I see THAT coming?!"
"Freak out later!" Rei sounded just as hysterical as she charged one of Them and stabbed it through the head.
Rin had reached under her skirt, making both teachers goggle in shock as she unsheathed her personal Azoth Dagger. "DID YOU HAVE THAT THIS WHOLE TIME?!" Kyōko screeched, only to be ignored as Rin charged forward so fast the pavement beneath her cracked.
"Of course!" She said, before she sliced one of the zombie's heads cleanly in half. Having seen Saya get drenched earlier with no ill effects, she figured she would be okay if she got any on her. She held her hand out and two jewels appeared in her hands, and she tossed one each to each teacher. Shizuka especially got starry-eyed as she handled it. "Pick a target and throw!" She commanded.
"But it's so pretty!" Shizuka whined, only to 'eep' as Rin turned a glare at her. Both buxom teachers looked at each other, before throwing at a cluster of zombies that had come from the bushes. The jewels hit them, and exploded violently. The zombies got blown clean off of their own legs, and the noise attracted more zombies to the explosions. "Oh my!"
Shirō meanwhile had turned into a whirlwind of death, carving a path through the parking lot with his blades. Every zombie that came near him didn't just get sliced, they got absolutely minced. Blood was getting absolutely everywhere, but thankfully Shirō seemed to be flinging it away. More than one zombie had actually slipped and fallen because of it. In no time at all, they had made it to the bus.
Shizuka hurried to get it open, with Kōta hurrying inside and opening a window, taking up his place with his weapon aimed. He started providing covering fire as the rest of them piled on. Rin directed the hypnotized students to the back, before getting on herself. The students looked a bit dazed as they 'awoke,' but Rin had already modified their memories to make them think they had participated in the escape. After the last of them got on, Shirō allowed Enki to disappear and followed Saeko onto the bus. He let out a tired sigh, "Jeez, that was intense… Who is driving?"
"This isn't like my car!" Shizuka wailed, panicking as she stared at everything.
"I'll do it then! I've driven these before for the tennis club meets!" Kyōko slipped into the chair and turned the bus on, "It has plenty in the tank!" She said in relief.
"Let's go then!" Rin said, making Kyōko reach for the lever that would close the doors.
"Wait! Please!" Someone called from outside.
"Who's that?" Takashi asked as they came closer.
Saeko was the one who replied, "It's Shidō-sensei from third year class 3."
"Shidō!" Rei snarled, "Let's go! Leave him!"
"Yes, please do!" Shizuka pat Kyōko on the shoulder, "If the bus gets surrounded we won't be able to leave at all!"
"But we can't leave them!" Takashi gasped at the words coming from both Rei's mouth as well as Shizuka's.
"Yes we can! He's better off dead!" Rei spat, "We can't trust him!" The commotion distracted everyone, and so no one saw Shidō get grabbed by one of the students he had been assuring he'd save, only to kick him in the face and leave him as bait for the attacking horde. And then it was too late, as the students reached the bus and started to pile in. "We're going to regret this!" Rei growled, before almost throwing herself into her seat.
"Marikawa-sensei!" Shidō gasped as he stepped on, "Hayashi-sensei. I'm glad you both are alright." He turned to the rest as the bus took off, "You saved us! Is Busujima-san the leader here?"
"No." Rin quickly took command. They hadn't appointed an official leader, but she'd gotten weird vibes from Shidō every time she had any interactions with the man, ever since she and Shirō had arrived. That plus Rei (who in her experience had been generally kind and had helped those other students without any hesitation) telling them to leave him to die set her on edge. It was important that they not leave him any room to try anything if her instincts and Rei's anger were right. "I am." If the others didn't like it, she would apologize later once she explained herself. But she didn't think it would come to that. They had all agreed to her plans, after all.
"Oh? Tohsaka-chan." Shidō turned his gaze to her, "Forgive me for finding that strange. You're a newcomer here, after all. It's impressive that you've managed to build up the trust for that in so short a time. It makes one wonder if that trust will weather the storm." He smiled at her, in a way his other students had found pleasant.
Oh.
Rin's eyes didn't narrow. She had too much control for that. 'That's why…' She thought idly to herself as she connected the strange vibes she'd been getting from him.
Kyōko took a deep breath as she slammed her foot harder on the accelerator. The bus picked up speed, "They're not alive anymore." She and Shizuka both thought to themselves, trying not to tear up as they ran over their former students' defiled bodies. They all had to fight a sigh of relief as they escaped the school, onto thankfully empty roads.
A clear divide had formed on the bus, with their own group near the front, and the students they'd rescued with Shidō's group in the back. As they made it onto the main road, Saeko spoke softly, "We seem to be okay for now." She looked at Shirō and Rin, "Will you explain, Emiya-kun, Tohsaka-chan?" She was still trying to calm herself down, having watched the masterpiece that was Emiya Shirō during their escape. That combined with the fight meant she had never been wetter. She was drenched, and trying not to let anyone notice her rubbing her thighs together.
"Yes, please. I'm ready to tear my twintails out!" Saya griped, staring hard at them.
"Not with them here." Rin's voice was equally soft, slightly jerking her head back. None of them looked back, knowing what she meant, "I wouldn't trust them as far as you could throw them." She looked at Saya faux-smugly, getting a harrumph from the girl.
Takashi quirked a grin, "Don't you mean how far you could throw them?"
Shirō snickered lightly, "No, we could throw them pretty far." Rin smirked as the rest of them dropped the line of questioning.
Takashi asked, "We're going to have to split up, aren't we? We can't trust them, and we can't keep lugging them around."
"Probably." Shirō said, closing his eyes wearily. It hurt to admit that. It didn't feel right leaving them without ensuring their safety. But he couldn't put the rest of them in more danger by arguing against it. Rin especially and the group that had actually fought with them were more important, and as Takashi said, they definitely couldn't trust Shidō's group with magecraft, much less their lives.
"Definitely." Rei hissed, "As soon as possible."
Kyōko spoke up from the driver's seat, "Where are we going first?"
"My house should be the closest." Takashi piped in, "Unless any of you need to stop close by."
"I live on my own. My father is in an international dojo." Saeko said, which was followed by Kōta, whose parents both lived elsewhere.
Before anyone else could chime in, Tsunoda, a dyed-blonde boy who had come in with Shidō's group, stood, "What the hell?! We're going back into town?!" That drew the attention of all of the other students, "What the hell are you idiots thinking?! We'll only be in danger if we do that!"
"You should have gotten your own bus, then." Saya said remorselessly, "What were you planning to do? Run from the school on foot? Hide in the dorms? You're only alive because we were kind enough to wait for you. We have our own plans, and you don't factor in them."
"What the fuck is this?!" Tsunoda yelled, "We outnumber you here, bitch! Shouldn't we all decide on what we're doing?! Why the hell should we go along with Komuro, Emiya, and the rest of these guys? You can't make decisions for us!"
Takashi glared at him, "You got a problem with me? I didn't say a word to you."
Another of Shidō's group (Kurokami) piped in, "He's right! If we keep this up, we're just putting ourselves into danger! We should find somewhere to hole up, like that convenience store we just passed by!"
Shizuka gasped as she and Kyōko saw people hanging off a helicopter, before plummeting down. Kyōko swerved the bus to avoid some blocked roads. She saw blood, so clearly They were around as well. She had to turn onto a more uneven road as the students who weren't with their group continued to argue, "It's not too late! Plus, I-"
Shizuka snapped, "Enough! How is Kyōko-sensei supposed to drive like this?!"
Tsunoda and Kurokami shut up, but only for a moment before Tsunoda started to bluster again, "This is bullshit!" He glared at Shirō, who stared at him blankly, "You want to fight, asshole?"
Saeko stood, her bokken held lightly as she glared at him, "Sit down."
"Fuck you, bitch!" Tsunoda spat at her, "You assholes shouldn't be deciding our lives for us, acting like you're big shits like this asshole!" He pointed at Takashi.
"When did I say a fucking word to you?" Takashi snarled at him, and at that point, Rei had enough.
She stood with her long handle in hand and jabbed him so hard in the side that the wound would be a deeper purple than Saeko's hair within the hour. Tsunoda almost vomited as he collapsed to his knees, "Shut your mouth, scum." She said coldly, before turning to smile at Takashi. And then she twitched as a clapping filled the air. Her teeth grit as she glared at Shidō.
"Most impressive. Superb teamwork, Komuro-kun. Miyamoto-san." Shidō only reinforced the vibes even Shirō was now getting from him. "But if fights like this are going to break out, it only backs up what I said earlier. Tohsaka-chan did not open her mouth at all to try to defuse the situation. We need a real leader. One of us!"
Saya rolled her eyes, "And I take it there's only one candidate for the job?" She adjusted her glasses.
Shidō smiled at her, "I'm a teacher, Takagi-san. Everyone else is a student. That alone speaks volumes to my merit."
"I take it Shizuka-sensei and Kyōko-sensei are just chopped liver then?" Shirō asked dryly.
"Oh, they're adults as well, but neither seem interested or able to perform the duty." He said in faux sadness, "After all, neither of them tried to break that situation up, beyond one yell from Marikawa-sensei."
"Neither did you." Shirō replied blandly, "You let it happen without a word, and now that it's resolved you're trying to act as if that was a great accomplishment."
Almost all of their group noticed just the slightest crack in Shidō's self-assured expression. None of them who had been paying attention missed it. He quickly fixed his expression up, but it was too late. He put his relaxed smile back on his face as he turned to the rest of the bus, "I can see you're not pleased, so I suggest putting it to a vote. How about it, everyone? If you allow me to lead you," His eyes shimmered with hidden greed, "I will do whatever it takes to keep problems at bay."
All of his group started to clap, and though the ones they had rescued were hesitant after Shirō's questioning, at the end of the day, they were followers who wouldn't have been able to survive on their own. Neither Shidō nor Rin had done anything about Tsunoda, so they decided to put their trust in a known quantity, which was a figure of authority. They clapped as well. "Well, there you have it?" Shidō took a bow, "Through a majority vote, I have become-" Rin was looking carefully at Rei, and realized she was about to do something very stupid. She already hated Shidō, and watching the man stand there gloating with his arms wide open was going to make her crack. Rin stood, catching Shidō off guard. She walked to him, "Yes, Tohsaka-chan? Do you have something t-" He stopped cold, making all of the students who weren't a part of their group gasp in shock. "H-Hey now…" Shidō trembled in fear as Rin held the very point of her Azoth Dagger to his throat. The bus went dead quiet.
"You know, sensei," She said, conversationally as Rei's eyes lit up in glee, "For the month or so that I've been here in Fujimi Academy, I've been wondering just who you reminded me of. Would you care to know who that was?" She pushed very slightly, and the teacher took a step back to avoid the tip piercing him. His eyes were wide in terror.
"C-Come now, Tohsaka-chan. You wouldn't kill me." He stammered, "You're not that kind of person."
Rin tilted her head to the side, seemingly in confusion, "You seem to be under the impression that you know me. Why is that?" Her eyes sharpened as she backed him up another step.
Tsunoda tried to reach for her ankle from his position on the ground to help their teacher, but Saeko's bokken crashed in front of his hand, just barely keeping from crushing his bones. The look in Saeko's eyes disabused him of that notion, and he meekly pulled back.
"I-" Shidō tried to speak, but Rin pushed her dagger up just a bit higher, forcing him to look up at the roof of the bus. His hands were trembling in fear.
"I asked you a question, sensei. Would you care to know who you reminded me of?" She eased up on the dagger, allowing him to look down.
"W-who?" he whispered, still utterly terrified of this slip of a girl who was playing him like a fiddle.
"Why, Kotomine Kirei." Rin smiled darkly, "The man who raised me, after my parent's untimely death." Several of Shidō's group – and even some of their group – blinked at that, "He was a priest, and he was even my own father's student. He taught me pretty diligently, but despite that, I never once liked him. Something always felt wrong." She forced him back another step, "And just two mere months ago, I discovered that that man, the same one who raised me, that same man who my father had brought into our home as his student…" She stared at him with a full Magus face that her father would have been utterly proud of, "Had been the one who shoved this very dagger into my father's back."
Gasps rang out through the bus, and Shizuka tearfully covered her mouth with her hands. Shirō merely closed his eyes, letting out a breath.
"I-" Shidō again tried to speak, but was unable to, as Rin backed him up another step, and he hit the back seats of the bus and fell into them. Even still her dagger followed.
"For nothing more, than his own dark amusement." She said, ice almost dripping from her tone, "So, you sanctimonious snake… I suggest," Rin stressed, "-that you sit down, and shut. Your. Mouth. And I also suggest that you leave my group out of your idiocy. We are making the decisions here. You're just along for the ride until we can drop your useless carcass somewhere. Remember that, otherwise my hand. Might. Slip. Was that in any way unclear?"
Shidō swallowed, "No."
Rin leaned down, "No what?" She hissed, a nasty look in her face. She was definitely projecting Kotomine on this asshole, and it was making her enjoy it.
Shidō ground his teeth together, "No, Tohsaka-sama."
"Good." Rin said, before pausing and staring at him. "Don't worry. We won't be in your hair for too much longer. This bus is getting too crowded for our tastes." She smiled sunnily, "So just to make sure you remember the lesson when we're gone…" His eyes widened but it was too late. Her hand jerked, and Shidō screamed as a small stream of blood flew through the air. Several of the students screamed in shock that she had actually done it as she turned and walked away without a word. Shidō clenched his chin, where a small gash had been sliced. Blood started to leak from his fingers as his students hurried to tend to him. As they tried to ensure he was alright, he glared at Rin's back as he silently swore unholy vengeance upon her. He would break that little bitch even if it killed him.
Saeko had sat down again, if only to try to hide the way she was clenching her thighs together. "Was that story true?" She asked a bit throatily.
"It was." Rin said, "I've made my peace with it now, though I suppose not as much as I thought I had." She smiled at Rei, "Was that satisfactory, Miyamoto-chan?"
Rei sounded a little breathless, "Tohsaka-chan, I could kiss you right now." She said in awe.
Rin's smile grew into a smirk, before she focused up, "Now let's figure out where we're going to stop. This bus is too big and cumbersome, and especially now, I don't trust some of these assholes to not try to stab us in the back. We're going to go our separate way when we're ready."
Kyōko spoke up, "We should get closer to the bridges and see what the situation is. We shouldn't make any plans involving them, as they could be barricaded."
Shizuka walked up to Rin, and spoke softly, "I have an idea. Somewhere we could maybe stay safely." She quickly explained quietly so Shidō's group would have no chance of overhearing.
"That's perfect, Shizuka-sensei." Rin smiled brightly, "Kyōko-sensei, make for Onbetsu Bridge. We'll ascertain the situation and decide what to do once we see what things are like there."
"Got it!" The bus drove on, slowly changing colors under the setting sun.
-]|[-
And there we go! Hope you all enjoyed!
So, a few things to get out of the way. Yes, that IS Proto Gilgamesh's Enki… kinda. Sorta. Needless to say, Star of Destruction would be too overpowered to use in this setting, period. And even if it wasn't, Shirō just doesn't have the magical energy to use the technique. It almost wiped Gil himself out. SO, seeing as how I liked Enki so much, and they were supposed to be Proto Gil's answer to Ea and Fate Gil already HAS Ea, I decided to make some modifications to them for this story. They're still very powerful, but not an ultimate answer the way they were for Proto Gil.
Relationships are already final, so no need to make suggestions.
I can't promise consistent updates at all for this one. I'll basically only be working on it when the mood strikes, which I can't imagine will be that often. Still, I had a lot of fun with it, so hopefully it won't be TOO long between chapters…